I’ve spent the last few days trying to come up with something to write about that was relevant or worth reading. It’s two hours before my deadline and I still don’t really know what to say. I don’t know how to write about what I want to share because, to be honest, I don’t really have any solutions.

This afternoon two junior high students in my hometown were shot walking home from school.

Side Note: I don’t want this to turn into an “I hate guns” column because I really don't hate them, I just don’t really like them that much right now.

I wish I knew the answers on how we could get away from what seems to be a growing epidemic in our nation. I wish I knew the way to make it seem like the world was a little less terrifying. I don’t really know how to write about this because I always want to offer a solution to a problem when I write about it, but right now I’m drawing a blank. We can’t do much about limiting weapons or access because it is our constitutional right to have them, but how do we end this violence? I know, I know, everyone seems to have an opinion on how we can make this issue less of an issue, but I haven’t heard a single one yet that will actually do much good.

Aside from closing the background check loophole is there really anything we can do that will help? I just really don’t know anymore. Every day there’s a new approach or an idea on how to solve our violence issues.

People are always saying that statistics show violence is actually in decline here in the USA, and maybe it truly is, but it really feels like it's hitting a little closer to home now. I guess at the end of the day it boils down to one thing — I want us to be better.

I want us to be better for the Aurora (July 20, 2012) victims, for the Sandy Hook (Dec. 14, 2012) victims, for the Columbine (April 20, 1999) victims, and for the Pulse Orlando (June 12, 2016) victims. I want us to be better for the Virginia Tech (April 16, 2007) victims, for the University of Texas (Aug. 1, 1966) victims, and for the Inland Regional Center (Dec. 2, 2015) victims. I want us to be better for the American Civic Association (April 3, 2009) victims, for the Fort Hood (Nov. 5, 2009) victims, for the Washington Navy Yard (Sept. 16, 2013) victims, for the Umpqua Community College (Oct. 1, 2015) victims and for the Charleston (June 18, 2015) victims.

Make no mistake — this isn’t a battle cry to “Make America Great Again.” The United States is already great. This is simply a plea to keep it that way.

I wish I knew exactly how to do it, but I don’t. That’s something we can only do together.

So, while I sit here trying to understand why I am at a total loss for words or thoughts or solutions, maybe we can all agree on one thing: we must be better for each other.