On February 14th, 2018, 17 high school students were killed in the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Yet social media is full of people complaining that they're single. And it really pisses me off.
I never really understood Valentine's Day. What makes February 14th so special when it comes to celebrating love? Whether it's friendships, romantic relationships, or yourself, that kind of love is celebrated every day.
One year ago, 17 individuals lost their lives. They won't ever get the chance to love again. And we're over here complaining that no one is sending us flowers or taking us out to dinner.
I opened Twitter and was disgusted to see that "Valentine's Day" was trending higher than Parkland, with 3.42M tweets versus 246K tweets, respectively.
Thoughts and prayers, hugs and kisses, I'm just not here for it today.
While the rest of the country is caught up on the commercialization of love, the Parkland community is remembering, mourning, and probably reliving.
So many of us will never be able to understand the emotions they are dealing with not only today but every day.
Too easily, we forget about the tragedies that people across our country face. We speak up when it's convenient for us. Sure, flowers and teddy bears are nice. But Parkland doesn't have that luxury today. Parents are missing their children, students are missing their friends.
Put it into perspective. The conversation about gun reform doesn't get put on hold just because today is a "holiday." For the victims and survivors of the Parkland shooting, it's not easy to focus on love today; I'd imagine their thoughts are plagued with loss.
