As a mass communication major, I spend a lot of time looking at the news. When I wake up in the morning, throughout the day, and most times before my head hits my pillow. As you can assume, I am familiar with the fact there is almost nothing but bad news 24/7. It is sickening, especially when you hear X amount of people killed in a mass shooting.

This type of news runs through the airwaves of our televisions way too often. It seems that it was monthly that we were hearing about a shooting, at one point it seemed to become a weekly occurrence. Every shooting from Pulse nightclub in 2016 to the Las Vegas shooting just last year, and the Parkland shooting this year, we can never forget. The newscasts are always so heart-wrenching, it is almost as if the news anchors and witnesses' voices still ring in my head.

As a mass communication major, I intend on being a reporter eventually as I navigate through my career. The mass shooting epidemic that we are facing in this country and just the amount of shootings that occur in general, sway me from my career dreams. I could not imagine ever reporting on a shooting. It must be so tough to report on such inhumane events. This epidemic is hard for everyone; it is full circle. I could not imagine being a survivor of one of these catastrophic events.

According to the Washington Post, 1,135 people have been killed in mass shootings since 1966, of those the youngest an 8-month-old baby. Of course, with so many people losing their lives in these events, new precautions have been put in place. Now instead of just fire drills in schools, they do lockdown drills. There is no reason we should fear for our lives going to school!

Schools are not the only places precautions are taken. Stadiums and concert venues check purses, and some don't even allow purses. It is so frustrating that we can't even feel safe going to events that are supposed to be care-free and fun. We shouldn't have to worry that others co-existing amongst us are going to kill us.

A solution to this problem is possible. It is understandable how it needs time to process, there are a lot of factors that need altering to try and reduce the number of these shootings. The biggest step for a solution, though, is the realization that there is a problem. There is still a lot of denial.