On Wednesday, February 14, 17 innocent lives were taken. These seventeen lives belonged to beloved teachers, coaches, and teenagers who woke up that morning not knowing that it would be their last day on earth. Not knowing that Nikolas Cruz, a nineteen-year-old former student expelled for his suspicious behavior, would come in and wrongfully whisk them away from life. Some had scholarships, were on teams, helped others through cancer--I am absolutely heartbroken having to write that these people were ripped away from all that they loved and all of their opportunities to do good in the world.

I am seventeen years old and a senior in high school. Every morning, I wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, put on makeup, grab my backpack and head out the door. When I walk through the doors of my school, I should not have the fear of someone opening fire on me. I should not have the fear of my friends and teachers being killed. But this burden of fear is something that my fellow classmates and I will carry with us every single day.

From the recent incident, many opinions regarding mental health and gun control have arisen. From the get-go, I will say this: I am tired of hearing to stop using a “political agenda” for liberal ideas--these “agendas” are being proposed to stop the problem. This is not about a political party, this is about human life.

To the people holding up picket signs, writing and calling in, entreating the government to take action to limit these atrocities, you are heard by many. Your goals, while politically oriented, are to the benefit of the American people as a whole, regardless of where they stand politically. No parent, Republican or Democrat, wants to fear for their child’s life as they are sent off to school.

The fact of the matter is that Cruz, among the various other shooters of the other incidents that have happened in 2018, should NOT have been able to get his hands on a military level assault rifle. Anyone, mentally ill or not, should not be able to own such a drastic weapon. It is simply unnecessary and allows for these rash acts of tremendous violence to occur. Even our police force does not have access to this high level of weaponry. And either way, even though Trump blames mentally ill gun-handlers for the problem, he was the one who revoked Obama-era gun checks that placed mentally ill buyers in a background check database.

President Trump recently blamed both students at the school and residents of Parkland, Florida, for not reporting the shooter's intentions if they had recognized so many signs. Well, Trump, I regret to inform you that the FBI simply did not check into the claims that they received days in advance. That’s right, the FBI--who we are supposed to trust to investigate our suspicions and the crimes that have shady motives, did not act in time. Things were seen and things were said. “See something, say something?" Yes, President Trump, it was in fact reported.

On the mental health end of the issue, there are many things that can be said. We cannot blame the school shootings solely on mental illness. Clearly, the gun issue is what makes them possible in the first place. But it is important to acknowledge that our society definitely needs to improve the way we handle mental health. The government needs to provide the mentally ill in economic depravity with means of proper therapy or help that they need, and schools NEED to educate students more on mental health issues--and provide or offer connections to help for students who do not know how to cope with how they are feeling, or are uncomfortable talking to their parents about it.

In the end, it all boils down to the fact that children’s lives are at stake--whether at the hands of themselves or at the hands of others. Children with different personalities and talents, who have families and friends who love and care about them. Who have so many opportunities that do not deserve to be taken away.

Every day, my teachers, friends, acquaintances, and myself are walking on eggshells. Every day I walk into class, I pass the lock down emergency procedures that are posted on every door. Every day, I take tests and quizzes, do school work, go to my extracurricular activities. Every day, I am immersed in a sea of faces, not knowing every single student’s true intentions. And every day, parents text their kids to check in if they made it home. Every day, my parents fear what may happen that day. Every day, everyone in an educational environment is on guard for fear of another shooter. Every day should NOT have to be like this.