Seventeen. The number of lives senselessly taken. It's heartbreaking, and, frankly, it's getting absolutely ridiculous. There's so much to say about this incident and so many others, yet, I am also speechless.

I am pro-gun. I'm from the south, it was just the way I was raised.

I didn't know where our guns were until I was older, and, even now, they remain out of easy reach, and they are reasonably hidden. I watched my dad shoot when I was younger, and I learned the proper way to handle a gun, and I loved it.

But the fact still remains, I can walk into any given store and purchase a gun with few to no restrictions. I have every intention of going through proper training to receive a concealed carry license when I'm old enough, but it is becoming abundantly clear that not everyone has the intention of going through the proper steps.

All that aside, I can't get over the fact that our country can't make a flippin' decision when it comes to gun control. As a gun supporter, I understand their merits, but, if it takes me giving up my option of owning a firearm to ensure that kids stop getting gunned down in their schools then that's a sacrifice I'd 12/10 be willing to make, and I simply don't understand why others don't feel that way. It remains possible for individuals with mental disorders to get firearms –– and semi-automatic firearms at that.

What is the point? I'm all for the second amendment, and I'm not saying every gun should be confiscated, that's just not logistically feasible, but semi-automatic rifles don't serve much of a purpose for civilians.

It just makes me so mad, and a little scared, because I'm on a campus, and I can only pray this never happens to myself or my friends. When we heard about the shooting, my friends and I stopped doing homework to have a genuine conversation about what we would do in the event of a school shooting. As a student, I should not be afraid to go to school, or watch a movie, or go to a concert.

There is so much coverage swirling around the fate of the killer, and, while I don't believe in the death penalty, I also know that it isn't my place to have an opinion on this matter. I wasn't the one who lost a child, or a sibling, or a best friend. I'm on the outside looking in, and I just want change.

I am a student, daughter, sister, and best friend. I don't want to EVER have to mourn for the loss of someone I love, and I never want them to mourn for me. This is my reaching out to someone, anyone who will listen.

This. Needs. To. Stop.