I grew up in the city of Pittsburgh and for any kid that grew up here, you also grew up with many great things from this wonderful city. However, I think the most important thing I grew up with was Mr. Rogers. Mr. Roger's neighborhood definitely had some aspects that creeped me out as a kid, but it taught me a lot of valuable lessons.

These are the lessons I have carried with me since my tiny tot years of watching Mr. Rogers. I learned to have the courage to be myself, because he would tell us everyday he loved us just the way we are. I learned the lesson of understanding love because he told us that one of his wise teachers told him there is only one thing evil cannot stand and that is forgiveness. I learned the challenge of inner discipline because he taught me there is no normal life that is free of pain it's the very wrestling with our problems that can be impetus for our growth. Lastly, I learned we are all neighbors with this thought in the back of my head. We want to raise our children so that they can take a sense of pleasure in both their own heritage and the diversity of others. I've continued practicing these lessons as I got older, and as I look around these days I think we could use a lot more people that want to improve our "neighborhood."

I was 45 minutes away while the attacks in Orlando happened, watched in horror while the news stories rolled in about Paris and Nice, thought "I was supposed to be in Dallas at the time the rampage took place there," and couldn't comprehend the loss of life in various cities across the U.S. at the hands of police. The politicians in charge don't seem to have any answers or solutions. The choices I have to pick from for the upcoming election might be as ridiculous as the write in choice I plan to go with. People are playing the blame game towards other races and religions. The Purge seems like more of a realistic view everyday. This saddens me, it's disappointing to see my fellow humans going through or doing this to others.

I'm not going to offer up suggestions and solutions to these situations because I don't know that there is one answer to wrap up these issues in a neat package. I'm not going to pledge allegiance to a specific lives matter movement. I'm not sweeping anything under the rug or ignoring the issues at hand. I'm going with the facts that I know. The facts that I know are: there is evil in this world, unjust things happen, there are people in fields that shouldn't be just like any job, and as long as you aren't hurting anybody else and you are happy I see nothing wrong with doing you and being yourself.

I worry about where our world is right now, but I choose to focus on the positives I'm seeing too. I see others helping others; I see ordinary heroes stepping up; I see little changes taking place and I choose to focus on those. I choose not to live in fear or hate because that would mean they accomplished just what they wanted. The love is overcoming the hate. There will always be those lone wolves, groups that want to cause pain and hurt, groups that think hating people is for sport. But I hope that with time, open ears, and open minds we can overcome these obstacles that stand in the way of making this "neighborhood" a great place again.