“Please Pray. Shooter at Douglas,” was the text I received from my mom on Valentine's Day. The day of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that has made national news. At first, I didn’t think much of it, I didn’t think that within the matter of hours several would be injured and 17 people would be pronounced dead. I especially didn't expect this to be done by a former student, Nikolas Cruz. It left the town of Parkland, Florida changed forever.

Hearing about school shootings on the news is upsetting. You think to yourself, “what a tragedy, I can’t imagine how the students, families, and town feels.” However, when you receive this information about your own hometown, the feelings and emotions are far beyond. To know that my hometown is home to one of the deadliest school shootings breaks my heart. I never expected this to happen to my hometown, in my backyard, until I heard the news.

February 14, 2018 is a day that not only changed a small town but our nation forever.

The students from Stoneman Douglas have made it their mission to not back down from standing up for their lives and being present-day heroes. These students are honoring those who lost their lives on that tragic day. They are not backing down from voicing their opinion in changing our nation's laws against gun control and creating hashtags like #neveragain and #marchforourlives to spread awareness on the topic. Neighboring High Schools are protesting right along with them, making it known to the government that we as students no longer stand to be open targets for those who wish to open fire.

David Hughes, Pastor of Church by the Glades in Coral Spring, Florida said, “We are all Douglas” and I could not feel more connected or proud to agree with this statement. I find it a privilege to be from Parkland, Florida. To be from the place that is starting an uproar for wanting to see and create a difference in our nation. A community that is not taking "no" for an answer. I am proud to be from a community, which was strong prior to this tragedy but is immensely stronger now. We stand together for those who we lost on that day.

These are the names of the 17 beautiful souls that were lost. Lives that may be gone, but never forgotten:

Luke Hoyer, Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque Anguiano, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jamie Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alania Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, and Peter Wang.

As the chaos and shock die down, we must remember these moments. The moments of pain, heartbreak, anger, and confusion but also the moments that have connected a community together, the joint efforts that have been taken to make a change and the love that is being spread throughout the South Florida community and throughout the nation.

We must not forget those who have been lost. It’s easy for those 17 people to become just another statistic for political views for some people. But for the people of Parkland, and for the families of those who passed, they will never forget. It is our duty to help celebrate their lives through memory. It is our duty to be that constant for those who will be may be silently grieving for months and even years to come.

This act of hate will not be what people remember. It is the act of love, fellowship, and change that will be what people remember Parkland, the small South Florida town, for.