In every episode of the news I watch, I feel a piece of my heart shrink because it is consumed with mass shootings, stories of rape and other devastating news. I am constantly filled with emotion and horror over the events that are taking place in the world around me, and I am terrified of what is yet to come.
Life was easier when I was little and didn't understand what was going on. The only thing I liked to watch on the news was the location of Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve, and the weather to see if the next day could hopefully be a snow day off of school.
I knew people died and bad things happened, but I didn't understand the extent and what it really meant. After 9/11, my grandma told me she asked me to change the station from Scooby Doo to the news. Little did I know the world was falling apart around me. I am sure I saw it on the screen, but couldn't process the full effect of what was happening that day. After all, I was only four years old.
When people died, I never thought it was due to murder. I couldn't imagine one person would take another person's life. Days like today I wish I was that four-year-old girl full of innocence and comfort in the world around me.
I never thought the day would come where I'd be scared to do something I enjoy. So many things have been forever altered for us now. Think about it. Movies, schools, nightclubs, concerts and even marathons have all recently been targeted by evil leaving us with doubt and fear of places we once considered safe and a big part of our lives.
I'm no longer that little girl and now in college. It's both surreal and frightening to hear a college student sexually assaulted one of his peers behind a dumpster and will spend less time in jail than nearly any other crime committed. Between mass shootings on campuses and unpunished sexual assaults, school is no longer the safe haven you grew up believing it was.
As young adults where do we go from here? We can't lock ourselves in our house and never leave, forgo school, or stop participating in things we love. We are mature enough to know there is far more good in the world than bad, and we have to continue to live our lives with hope, trusting and loving. We have to keep our lines of communication with one another, school administrators, and law enforcement open and trust our instincts.
Ask questions and make informed decisions when in doubt. More importantly, we have a voice and need to stand up for what we believe in and not be swayed by fear or intimidation.
