I made a promise to myself to not get political on Odyssey. Respect my beliefs, respect others beliefs and move on. It was pretty naïve of me to think I wouldn’t have a change of heart. It was only a matter of time for me to develop into what I believe in as a writer.

February 14. A day of love, cherishing one another, and family. My mother’s favorite holiday. It is filled with love and hope, hugs and kisses, hearts and respect. This one ended up being a lot different. In the midst of what should have been a day of flower-giving to your loved ones, 17 families were given the news that their sons, daughters and loved ones had passed away.

We walk to school without a care in the world. We are excited to enrich ourselves in the curriculum—an escape from work, drama, and other teenage things. School is an embodiment of safety. We see fire extinguishers, fire alarms, locked doors and gun control procedures.

Hold on a second, I must have mistyped. I never learned about gun control procedures when I was in high school just a year ago. It’s fine though. It’ll never happen at my school, right?

WRONG. As a student of a South Florida high school, this happened approximately 20 minutes away from me. It could have been my school. It could have been my friends who died. It could have been what once was my safe haven, turned into a place of dreariness and mourning. Instead of spending money on regulations for gun laws, we have government spending for Air Force One flights. Spending for fancy family dinners. Spending on renovations for an already expensive white house.

The point is being missed in our modern America. We are losing the fight to protect schools and their learning students. They did not ask to go to school to die. They asked to learn and make themselves into adults who will change the world. Now that chance is lost.

So let me teach you something: we can fight about Republican issues, Democratic issues and all of the above because we are bipartisan. We have the right to believe in our own values and morals, and I will always respect that. However, a child or adult’s safety in a school is NOT up for discussion. This is not bipartisan. This is not up for debate. This is a livelihood. This is for family.

Most importantly, this is for you, the 17 individuals who will never be forgotten: Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Meadow Pollack, Christopher Hixon, Gina Montalto, Alex Schachter, Peter Wang, Alaina Petty, Martin Duque Anguiano, Helena Ramsey, Joaquin Oliver, Carmen Schentrup, Cara Loughran, and Luke Hoyer.

We love and miss you. I hope you all are holding hands somewhere a lot safer than here on Earth. I hope you are with the children from Sandy Hook. Take care of each other. I am sorry we couldn’t prevent this. I am sorry as a writer I cannot do more than just hope people will read this. As aspiring individuals, you all have made your impact on Earth and although it was way too short-lived, you are an example of love.

The world knows your names. The world knows what happened. One day you will see your school in a textbook. We must learn from this. When my children read about you all just know you left your mark. You are all amazing. You are all loved. You are all remembered.