Rochester, New York - yes, it’s not big and no, it's not “basically” in Canada. But it is where I consider myself to be from, and I will be damned if I see it torn apart any more than it has been.

If you are unfamiliar with the city and the events that are held annually, there is the commonly known Lilac Festival that happens once a year in May, usually around Mother’s Day.

I’ve been attending the festival with my family since I was able to walk. It’s been a tradition of ours to go at least once during the season to see the lilacs and embrace the carnival-like atmosphere. Some of my favorite memories are walking around and taking in all of the natural beauty that exists in Highland Park.

But what I don’t want to hear is that teens, and even adults are selfishly putting little kids, who were my age when I first attended the festival or even younger, in harm's way and causing their memories to be tainted by the violence that has been occurring this past week.

My heart broke when I first heard about the outbreak of the multiple fights that occurred on that Saturday afternoon. Fights began to break out left and right as I understood it. And then to hear that it got to the point of gunshots? I was sick. That is not acceptable behavior. People need to realize that these festivals and gatherings are of privilege and tradition, not of violence and selfishness. I won't apologize, but to those who were involved, you should be ashamed of yourselves for causing such hiatus and risking innocent people's lives to participate in something so disgusting. If you choose to read more about the specific details that occurred that day, click here.

The thought of children who were my age when I first started to attend the Lilac Festival, witnessing something that is supposed to happy and cheerful made me really reflect on the kind of city we are turning into. I began to think of the very big chance of this festival not existing in ten years when I have my own children. They won’t be able to experience the joy of walking around Highland Park and being able to walk down the hill to get fried dough - and that's not fair to people like me who want to be able to create positive and happy memories there now or even sometime in the future as a family.

I get it that Rochester is not the safest place on earth, but it is still my home and there are parts of the city that have remained unsafe and haven’t spread among neighboring parts. But I will not let it spread to the festivals and gatherings that have been practiced for hundreds of years. Police officers risk their lives every day to ensure the safety of us all and fight the war on violence. But where do we draw the line? How do the coordinators of the event determine when it becomes too unsafe. Heck, they have every right as of now to yank this event away from us all.

So if you are one of those people who participated in the violence that occurred at the festival, then please, consider the damage you have done. You may have jeopardized the memories of hundreds of children because of your selfish act. Not to mention you may have added to the list of reasons as to why the city should no longer hold the festival. Keep the violence away from these streets and think about what you decide to participate in. It can have more effect upon people than you would ever know.