Welcome to 2016. I bet if you looked back 20 years ago everyone looked at this time and thought about the progress the world would have made and how amazing of a time it would be. Instead, we are living in a world full of fear. Fear where you can’t be yourself because you may just be hurt because of it. A world where you can’t turn on the news without hearing something so heart-wrenching, you don’t know how the families of these victims are going to make it. You hear things on the news that keep you up at night and wonder what in the hell kind of world we live in. In a world where there could be so much progress, we are all filled with fear. We have people who are living with mechanical hearts but so many of us are afraid to go to a movie theater. In such a beautiful world it’s truly tragic to think about what we all fear so much. We should be celebrating things such as mechanical hearts and hand transplants and successful treatments for deadly diseases, yet all we focus on is the hurt and the pain in the world, but how can you not? It’s what we see day after day.

It’s truly sickening that we live in a world where you can’t go to a movie theater and feel safe. You can’t send your kids to elementary school without the fear that someone might be trying to harm them. You can’t go to a nightclub to just have a good time and relax without the fear that someone is going to want to hurt you just for who you are. You stare out the window in your college classroom and wonder what you would do if someone came through that door right now and tried to do the unthinkable. Going into work can be life or death if someone doesn’t agree with your career or with something that your company does. Even at military bases the men and women who fight for our country aren’t even safe. Doing simple everyday tasks such as going to get your mail or going to the doctor’s office could end in unforgettable tragedy. Celebrities can’t even enjoy their jobs anymore because of the fear that someone in the crowd is trying to hurt them. Going into a crowded shopping mall has become more of a search for the nearest exit than a relaxing time. High School, where it’s supposed to one of the best times of your life, students are doing drills just in case someone tries to come and hurt them. Even just the commute to work on public transit can become the worst day of your life. Why do we live in a world where going out in public is no longer a simple decision because none of us know what might happen?

No, this article is not about gun rights. Honestly, this has nothing to do about the guns used in these horrific crimes. It’s about the world we live in. How sad it is that people actually have to second guess going into public? How sad is it that these are the things people think about before they go into a movie theater, to get dinner, to go shopping? All of us know that simple everyday tasks can turn into a tragedy.

We live in a world that could see so much progress. A world that could be doing such great things, and yet we are still held back by these disasters. The news spends so much time focusing on the horrible things in this world, but they can’t help it when it happens everyday. Miracles happen everyday, but we are too blinded by this cruel world to see them.

To the families of all of these horrific events, I am so sorry and hope you have the best future you can possibly have after these tragedies.