In my entire life I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed as many tragedies, controversies and inhumane activities as I have throughout the last several years. From the summer of 2014 until present day, there have been countless acts of terrorism, public displays of police brutality, numerous hate crimes, vicious hurricanes… the list goes on. One would expect, or at least hope, that during times like these- we as human beings will come together and support one another. One would also hope that despite the many cultural, ethnic, and economic differences we have in this country and in this world, all of that would be put aside because there are people in need, and human lives are more important than any man-made differences. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. In fact, instead of coming together as a unit, I fear that we have in fact been divided once again, this time more than ever before. In urban metropolitan areas, it has become minorities vs. law enforcement. In corporate America, it has become men vs. women. In the National Football League, it has become the players vs those who believe people of color are not oppressed in this country.

You can literally see the division happening right before your eyes, and it is such a sad sight to witness. The recent massacre in Las Vegas was the last straw for me. Reading the story almost brought tears to my eyes. You mean to tell me that now I can’t even go to a concert and enjoy a night out with my friends? You mean to tell me that now I must keep an eye out for myself and my loved ones at all times wherever I go? You mean to tell me that I’m not safe anywhere I go, no matter how many police officers are there? Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse… it keeps getting worse. Not only did I think about the poor souls who lost their lives that awful night, but I thought more about their families. Not only did their lives come to an end, but the lives of their families will never be the same. Thousands of lives were changed forever that night because one man had no respect for human life.

Amongst all this madness, my people are still suffering on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. Many are putting in great efforts to help ship food and supplies, but I feel like more can be done. It is also frustrating to witness the ignorant actions of the leader of this country. Instead of making disrespectful comments towards professional football players, you would expect one to put all of that to side and immediately address the crucial help that our fellow Americans need after such a disastrous hurricane. One thing I have been paying attention to is the unity within certain communities. I personally have been raising money for Hurricane Maria relief selling t-shirts. Every single person who has purchased a shirt thus far is of Latin American decent. Not that there’s an issue with that, because everyone may have their own way of giving back towards our people in need. There very well may be many white and black people who have already donated. But for example, if you take a look at the players in the NFL who have been taking knees, a large portion of them are black men. There has been a handful of white players who have been kneeling and showing support, which is an awesome sight to see. My point and my wish is for EVERYBODY to come together, not just blacks, not just Puerto Ricans, not just whites, but everyone to come together as human beings and support each other’s causes.

There has to be a moment for all of us to say you know what, enough is enough, I don’t care what color you are, I don’t care what your home looks like, I don’t care what your religion is. We are both human beings which is the most important similarity we have, and right now we need each other to make things better, because things are not okay. I feel like that moment passed some time ago, but if we should choose a time, then right now is it. Instead of spreading division, spreading negativity, spreading hate, we must spread more love.