At roughly 10:08 pm on Sunday, October 1^st, the citizens of Las Vegas, Nevada and the world were overcome with emotions of awe and loss as the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history took place. During the Route 91 Harvest Festival, the country concert was interrupted by gunfire as the shooter, Stephen Paddock, opened fire killing 59 people and injuring 527 others (CNN). Although Paddock was eventually brought down by police, the 10-15 minutes of open fire drastically took the lives of far too many citizens, leaving us all speechless.

When I first heard about the shooting, I was dumbfounded. I could not believe that something like this happened again. Instantly, I thought about all of those who were impacted by this event –whether that be from the loss of family members or the invasion of their hometown– and it broke my heart. To think about the plethora of lives that were changed in less than 30 minutes is heart-wrenching, and what’s worse is that this is not new to us.

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 claimed the lives of 27 people, 14 people were killed and 22 wounded in a shooting that occurred in San Bernardino, California in 2015, and just one year ago, 49 were killed and 58 injured in Orlando, Florida during a nightclub shooting. These mass shootings, unfortunately, are not all that new to us, and because of that, I have watched the faith that my friends and family used to have in their safety and trust in our nation deteriorate.

We often find ourselves overcome by feelings of hopelessness and loss when we hear of events such as these taking the lives of so many innocent people. We question what we can do to help if there will ever be a solution, and even those of us who don’t believe in a God above find ourselves dropping to our knees at night praying that things will get better. Still, months pass and we find ourselves back in the same place many people are in now: overcome with sadness and disappointment that things have yet to change.

So, what can we do? In times like these when we feel that our nation is letting us down, like things just aren’t getting better, how can we have hope? The answer may not seem to be an immediate solution, but it is one that will not fail to disappoint us, and that is to rely on one another.

No matter who you are, where you live, or what connections you have to these various events, what we must all remember is that we have one another. As members of a nation who have stood beside one another- directly or indirectly- throughout these events, we must remember to come together and confide in each other so that we can start to overcome these tragedies. We may not be able to get back the lives of those who were lost, but we can honor them and stand together as one nation to try and enter a better future.

Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of events like these is that we feel we have absolutely no control over them, but I disagree with those feelings. We do have control over these events. We have control over how we behave and respond to one another in moments of crisis. Most importantly, we have control over standing together, having faith that things will be okay, and following the most important mantra “if you see something, say something”. As citizens of one nation, our job is to look out for one another, to protect one another, to give one another love and support, and that’s exactly what we are going to continue to do.

For all of those who were impacted by this horrific event, my heart goes out to you. My deepest condolences are with you and your families, and my thoughts and prayers are with every single person who has been devastated by such a tragedy. Although it’s hard to keep that never-ending hope at a time like this, I am here to remind you: don’t lose faith. Because we are strong, we are united, and in one another, we need to trust.