256 mass shootings have occurred in the U.S. in 2019.

256. Let that sink in.

When you look at the list, it seems that almost every day has posed this terrifying threat.

If nothing changes, every day will continue to pose this terrifying threat.

Schools, movie theaters, churches, your local Walmart, block parties, bars, food festivals, music festivals, concerts, playgrounds, sports games, offices, parking lots, parties, malls. All of these places have been the scene of a mass shooting, which leads to this question: are we safe anywhere?

Honestly? No. Not really. We can't ever be really, truly safe. You might think I am being pessimistic, but in a country where children are killed by bullets, elders are killed by bullets, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, families and friends are killed by bullets, and nothing is done to keep it from continuing to happen, my view is more realistic than it is anything else.

So, think twice before you leave the house without telling your family you love them. Think twice before you hang up the phone in a huff after an argument with your loved one. Think twice before you watch your sibling, parent/guardian, or best friend head off to work or school for the day.

Tell them you love them. Make sure they know. Truth is, you don't ever really know for sure that you'll be able to say it to them again.

We can sit here and take these mass shooting tragedies and turn them into contempt. We can use them as a means of channeling our hatred for the shooters, for the weapons, for the laws that lag, or for the complacent. I am not going to sit here and pretend I haven't let tragedies like this bring out the worst in me. I am angry. I am disgusted. I am disappointed, but I am not surprised. I, too, am working to suppress my anger so that I can become a person of love.

Love more. Set aside your differences and lovemore. Love your neighbors. Love your families. Love your friends, and your classmates. Your coworkers. Love the people in your life, and do so unapologetically. Love doesn't fuel mass tragedy. Hatred does.

So, with that, enough is enough. This is a message to every single person reading this. Democrats and Republicans and Moderates alike. Conservatives and liberals. Gun enthusiasts and gun control advocates. Every single one of us needs to come together right now and take this problem for what it is.

It is time for a change. It has been time.