There are two things I wanted to accomplish by writing this article:

1. I want to answer one of the questions that I get often. ("So, you can't have cake?")

2. I want to share ways that you can actually take a stand against gun violence.

I won't promise to be my usual chipper self; though I understand that by creating this article at all, it seems a little like I'm trying to make light of an incredibly horrific event. Let me assure you: I am not. I am honestly hoping someone will open it and say, "Ooh, a cake recipe!" and read this and go, "Damn, I have to call my senator..." Fingers crossed.

I woke up and knew I had to create something. I didn't want to do something funny, or cute, or clever; I was sad. Horribly, terribly, deeply sad. It's been almost two weeks since I heard about the Orlando Massacre and I'm not over it. Not even a little.

I rolled over and, as I always do first thing in the morning to make myself wake up, I grabbed my phone and pursued the internet. I watched a Youtube video published by Hannah Hart, a Youtube celebrity that I love, entitled, "I'm Afraid of You". The poignant video brought tears to my eyes. You can watch it here:

In the video, Hart talks about the ways you can get involved. She talks about how many people have tricked themselves into thinking that they're helping.

"A lot of people are going to say that they're sad. A lot of people are going to say, 'Thoughts and prayers,' and while thoughts and prayers are wonderful and important and good, it's not as important as taking action and aligning yourself with your thoughts and prayers. So if you really want to help, then you have to help."

When someone talks to me about being vegan, a lot of times I encourage them to find a reason that will make it matter to them, because that's what you'll cling to in the middle of the night. So, I want to apply that concept here: make this matter to you personally, more than the other mass shootings have. I can't believe I'm saying that...

That could've been me. That could've been you. That could've been your friend, your daughter, your son, your partner, your mom, your uncle, your neighbor. Make it about you. Once you've done that, it's time to put this plan into action.

Step One: Come together.

Pull yourself back together. Meditate and pray. This can be the beginning of something new if you only allow it to be.

Step Two: Assemble.

Take stock of what you have and what you haven't. Read up. Learn the facts. How many people have died because we've allowed for this to happen? How easy is it to get a gun? What did your senator vote for? Who is representing you? Learn what needs to be done.

Step Three: Combine forces.

There is strength in numbers. Encourage those around you to step up and truly make a difference.

Step Four: Prepare.

Nothing is accomplished overnight. Prepare to practice patience, but know that only with persistence will anything change.

Step Five: Call. Email. Text. Do it.

Call to action. Don't like what's happened? This is what you can do to stop it from ever happening again. Like Hart, I'm attaching links:

1) Ban the AR-15 from Civilian Ownership. https://wh.gov/isupT

2) Contact Your Elected Representatives About Gun Control
https://medium.com/@nicolesilverberg/...

3) Did Your Senator Vote for Background Checks?
http://everytown.org/senate-votes/?so...

4) Tweet Your Congressperson: http://everytown.org/tweet-at-congres...

5) ...and more! http://www.30guncontrolactionsyoucant...

and for more motivational reading... "After Sandy Hook We Said Never Again. And Then We Let 998 Mass Shootings Happen":
http://www.vox.com/a/mass-shootings-s...

Step Six: Persist.

As the little pieces start to come together, the multitude of your tiny efforts building up, it's important to keep working towards the end. Don't lay back and say, "I've done my part." Keep driving that effort home. Keep spreading the message. Never stop. Ever. Worried about being annoying? That's bullshit. If you have friends who are annoyed by your efforts, you need new friends, and your friends need a wakeup call. Perhaps you should bake them this cake because they obviously have a sweetness deficit.

Step Seven: Success.

Truth be told, I've only but dreamt of this step. Can you imagine? A world in which our children aren't doing a drill that consists of standing on the toilet seats of bathrooms to be out of the sight of a mass murderer?

I talked earlier about making "about you". If you're not gay or you don't have any gay friends, perhaps you've decided that nothing bad will happen to you, quite like this. Perhaps you thought, This doesn't really affect me, so while I'm sad, I won't really lose sleep over this issue...

Let me say something that I've wanted to say so many times to so many people: there is someone out there who hates you, no matter who you are, just for being you. Whether you're white, black, Asian, male, female, straight, gay, bisexual, transgender, cisgender, queer, short, tall, young, old, fat, skinny, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, vegan, rich, poor, purple, gray, or Donald Trump/orange, someone hates you just for being you. Tomorrow, that could be your face on the news. Tomorrow, that could be you in the hospital. You might not think it could ever happen to you, but it can. If that's what it takes to make this matter, so be it.

Truth be told, when the going gets tough, people give up. But we can't give up. We can't let those people die for nothing. If you believe in a greater purpose, you must know that they died for a reason, and the reason is to scream to America, "Wake the fuck up! What will it take to make this matter to you?!" At least, that's what I believe. Because clearly the other mass shootings weren't enough to smack us in the face with reality.

If you don't believe in gun control, I'll restrain myself from saying a few things. However, I can't resist taking this time to ask you, do you really think that this is okay? How can a person with a brain, with ears, with eyes, with a heart, with a soul, look at all of this and say that everything is as it should be? How much more blood has to hit the ground before you say, "Right, something is wrong here. How can we fix this?" Because shy of gun control, I don't see any other possibilities.

Please don't confuse being weak for being strong. Please. Do something. Now. Today.

Anyway, I made this cake. By the time I was done with it, I was a mixture of incredibly happy and deeply saddened. It's vegan and really sweet. If you really care about making it, I almost verbatim followed a recipe I found on Pinterest. I did everything the same, pretty much, except I made seven layers instead of three and I dyed the layers. It tasted a little like cornbread to me, for some reason, but it was pretty good. It actually required me to be the opposite of lazy, for once. But I felt that was only fitting. Big thanks to Hannah Hart for being, as usual, an incredible inspiration to me.

Cake Recipe:

http://cakemerchant.com/2014/01/28/vegan-vanilla-b...