Lately, the news has been full of awful events that have taken place. The Stanford rapist, Christina Grimmie's death, the Pulse nightclub attack and a funeral procession crash all have been the focus of the media this past week. In the midst of all of these tragedies, I see a lot of hostility toward each other, especially when it comes to the gun control controversy we have on our hands. Regardless of what you believe, one thing is certain - we have to start being better toward each other. We need to start valuing each other as equals and respecting each other, at the very least on the basic human level. We need to remember to be kind to each other.

Somewhere along the way, we have all started to devalue each other just because we don't agree on things. Disagreeing is not a threat and it does not make someone less important if they don't agree with you. A difference in opinion is just that. It actually helps us progress as a society if we can find common ground between two different opinions. But that requires that we respect each other's thoughts and give them consideration. Humble yourself a little bit, deflate that ego of yours and recognize that your opinion is not the "end-all, be-all" of opinions. That will help you start to respect other people a little bit more.

We have to start being kind to each other. We are all going through different things and being rude is sometimes the last straw for someone. How is yelling at the other person helpful in any way? Your frustration might subside after your tantrum, but for the person you just yelled at, they now have that to deal with. I understand that sometimes you can't help it and something really wrong happened, but being kind with your words goes miles. When we are kind to one another, we start gaining respect for each other and we are able to continue a conversation no matter how different the opinions are of each party.

We all know that golden rule, "treat others the way you want to be treated." But for some reason, it's as if we decided that it does not apply after a certain age. Why is that? Do we just lose all respect for each other after a certain age? Or maybe, we've become so jaded that we stop caring about other people. I mean, every time I get on social media, there is someone saying something like "I care too much" or "I have to stop caring so much." I don't think that caring about people is a bad thing. I think we need to care about each other more. If we are kind and care about people as a whole, we can start to progress on a social level. Caring about people is not the problem, it's that not everyone reciprocates that same feeling. And, it's not that you too like everyone, some people just don't click, it's that you have a basic respect for all other human beings because we are all human beings.

In short, we are all just trying to get through life. Sometimes, life goes really crazy and we end up getting frustrated and upset. We don't know what others are going through, so we have to be kind to each other - we have to respect each other. No more hatred toward others, kindness is the way we heal as a society. Respect and open-mindedness are how we progress and start to achieve a better quality of life for all.