Everyone knows what happened on June 12, 2016, and if you live under a rock, it was when the known LGBTQ+ club in Orlando, Florida was invaded and 49 lives were lost. Pulse remains one of the worst incidents to happen in North American history. As we should remember those who lost their lives, lets take a second and focus on those still alive. These people still have to go on living every day with the memory that they survived a mass shooting. There are some of the survivors still waiting for an important surgery from the accident and this happened in 2016. That is ridiculous.

Could you imagine watching someone next to you get shot and you survived? No, then quit assuming that they survivors are 100% recovered physically and mentally. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night thinking you had heard gunshots and the screams of the dying. P.T.S.D is no joke. The survivors got help but it wasn't enough. Some will have to go to therapy for the rest of their lives. We should be fighting for the health of those effected by mass shootings both the survivors and the victims. We, as a society, look to our soldiers who risk their lives and come home with P.T.S.D. We need to protect the idea that the soldiers fight to protect and that's the survivors of terrible events like Pulse. That is enough to turn anyone to insanity. These are your brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents or whomever.

There is nothing like losing your loved one. There will forever be a hole in your heart and soul with pain that sometimes grows easier to deal with. In businesses all over Orlando and different parts of Florida/United States, they lost family members, coworkers, etc. We need to band together and fight hate. During different parts of history, we banded together to fight a common enemy. Why is it so hard to fight the common hatred among us now? Losing someone close to you forever changes you and there is no way that you can go back to your old life now.

Can you imagine waiting for a surgery for years? Can you imagine having something stuck in your body that hinders you in everyday life? Some of the survivors of the shooting are still waiting for surgeries to better their lives. It could be your wife/husband, sister/brother, parent or a close friend living with that bullet or disability. Would you want them to live like that? It truly breaks my heart that someone has to live with a bullet inside them and it could be taken out by having the surgery. As a society, we forget the survivors after a disaster as the months roll pass.. If it isn't in the news, it isn't important. We need to work on changing that by continually talking about it.

Whatever happened to fighting for what is right and helping others. With this country being set on Christian values, it is sad that we pick and choose what makes a good human. We will never forget the 49 angels that went to heaven too early, but we shouldn't forget those who survived that night. Those survivors are living with PTSD. Just like our soldiers, one truly doesn't 100% recover. They learn to deal with it. Surviving every day with mental disorders and physical problems from that night takes a strong soul. It makes me angry when I witness those who don't take the pulse shooting seriously because of the human life lost and damaged in the process. Remember to hug everyone you love.