June 12th 2016 will forever be a day in Orlando's history that made the world stand still. Approximately around 2:00AM at Pulse night club, a place normally filled with extreme love and enjoyment, experienced one of the darkest moments in all of United States history, when Omar Mir Seddique Mateen took the lives of 49 innocent people, and severely injured 53 others.
When I first woke up that morning and started to do my morning routine of switching between 4 different social media apps, I started to notice all of the uproar that happened downtown, a mere 15 minutes from where I live, and my stomach sank. After reading countless articles and watching videos showing all of these people running out of the night club, I couldn't even fathom what had just happened to the city I call my home. A city that has such a positive, cheerful reputation. Whenever someone hears the word "Orlando" they immediately think "Disney". So many families from across the country, and even different parts of the world come to Orlando to see all of our attractions and incredible hospitality services. Orlando is a place of magic and adventure. On the night of June 12th, the world began to see Orlando in a different light.
The reason this event hit so close to home for me, was mainly because of the fact that I have been to Pulse numerous times. Many people at my college, and kids I even went to high school with, like to go downtown and just dance the night away at Pulse, forgetting all about next week's midterm, or next month's board meeting. It was a place to be yourself. Pulse was also significantly known for its tremendous involvement in the LGBTQ community. It was a place to be who you truly are, and not have to worry about the judgement we may face from our families, about our sexual orientation, or our differing political beliefs. Pulse was the heart of the LGBTQ community for Orlando, and after this horrible tragedy, our brothers and sisters have been hurt. This was an attack on those innocent lives, as well as their families and friends. This was an attack on all of us.
About a day or so afterwards, Orlando seemed to be in a trance. Everywhere you went, people looked and acted depressed. We all felt as though we couldn't do anything to help. We all felt useless. Fortunately, I can say with great pleasure that that is not the case
Monday night, gathered at the Dr. Phillips center were thousands of people with candles, flowers and home made memorials to honor those that we have lost. It was such an incredible sight to see. The colors of the LGBTQ flag shined violently on the exterior of the Dr. Phillips center, in addition to countless other building downtown. Not to mention all of the flowers, candles, and LGBTQ flags that have been hung up on almost every street light. After this horrific event, the citizens of Orlando have shown more support and love for one another than I ever thought imagined. People formed mile long lines at OneBlood donation centers all across central Florida to donate their time and blood to help those in the hospital. Local tattoo artists are giving different Pulse tattoo designs out and donation a portion to the victims of the shooting (others donating ALL proceeds to these families), local restaurants are donating a portion of their revenue to the victims, and there was even a GoFundMe page that was created and has already raised over $5.3 million dollars. As a citizen of this city since birth, I can say without a doubt that this horrifying event has caused a tremendous amount of sadness and mourning, but I can also say that it has brought the people of Orlando closer together than ever before. I will never see my city as home of "the worst shooting in U.S. history" but rather, a city that comes together in tough times to lean on each other's shoulders and help one another through strenuous times.
No matter what you believe in, or what your views are, we can all agree on the fact that this mass shooting was a traumatic, sorrowful crisis. We can all agree that no matter your race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. none of these people deserved to walk into a doomsday. As Americans, I really wish that we see the bigger picture, and realize that some sort of change does need to happen, whatever it may be. Just be aware of the people around you. Be aware of your friends and family. Tell them you love them, and make sure they know it. We are not guaranteed another day here on this planet, and we never know what our future holds.
