The other day I was sitting in my kitchen, and it was a day just like any other. I came home late and rummaged through my kitchen for something to eat. My mom was in the living room watching The Voice. In between the sound of my own chewing in my ears, I heard my mom call out, the casual way she'd call out and ask if the dog needed to eat, or if I had a good day.

"Did you hear about that shooting in California today?"

I had a visceral reaction. It felt like something dropped in my stomach, and it was not the bite of grilled cheese I just ate. I truly felt sick. And I think part of that was not because of what happened, though it was sickening, but in the way we spoke about it. I can't speak to the past because I wasn't there and I am not a part of that time, but the way I've noticed the conversation about mass shootings shift in the past year or so has started to make my stomach feel weak. How are we getting used to this?

I can feel the outrage. I scroll through Facebook and see people having strong reactions just the same. People demanding change in legislation, people praying to whatever God they believe in, people just preaching for peace and love. People that see what's happening and are horrified by it. I do not intend to diminish these feelings, because they are real and valid and important.

I don't have a better solution, either. I don't know how to fight with anything but words. I don't know how we can start changing, but I do know that we are very much becoming desensitized to destruction. Just another shooting becomes nothing but a new Facebook status. We lose the gravity of what has happened, of the lives that were taken away. The people that worked their whole lives to be someone, to do something, to get somewhere. In an effort not to forget, I'd like to talk about who we lost this past week.

Yvette Velasco

She was only twenty seven years old. Both of her parents will bury her, along with her three sisters. In 2014, she got her job as an environment health specialist. Just beginning of the rest of her life.

Tin Nguyen

At thirty one, Tin was born in Vietnam and was not supposed to be working that day, having only decided to stop by for the holiday party. She was engaged and planning a wedding for 2017. She was only beginning.

Harry Bowman

Harry was forty six. He had a neighbor named Gina who heard the shower running every single morning. She thought it strange when she suddenly didn't hear it anymore. He was a father of two and once a teacher. He left a hole in the world in the shape of him.

Isaac Amanios

When his wife couldn't reach him by phone, she spent the night driving around to local hospitals in hope of finding him alive. Praying that it was just a really, really bad dream.

Nicholas Thalasinos

A loyal man, having his job at the Department of Health for 13 years. He met his wife online and then, in order to be with her, moved from New Jersey to California. A lifelong love letter that shouldn't have been sealed shut.

Damian Meins

28 years with the Department of Health. He also taught physical education at a local school. During the holiday season, he dressed up as Santa and took pictures with all the kids. There will be an emptiness this year in the chair he once sat in.

Bennetta Bet-Badal

Born in Iran, she escaped to the United States when she was eighteen after the Iranian revolution. She leaves behind a 15, 12, and 10 year old child. An entire life of fighting for the happy ending that she should have.

Sierra Clayborn

Graduating from college in 2010, she spent five years bouncing from job to job before taking one at the Department of Health. Maybe this job was the rest of her life, or another stop along her way to finding out who she is. I wish the world got to know who she'd have turned out to be.

Juan Espinoza

A health inspector that immigrated from Mexico, he valued education and instilled it in both his daughter and thirteen-year-old son. A self-made man that will never see his son grow up, fall in love, go to college.

Aurora Godoy

At twenty-six, she leaves behind her baby boy. Her family now mourns their loss while also tasked with making sure her son remembers the Mommy that never got the chance to chase away his bad dreams, to kiss away his pain, to send him off to his first day of school.

Robert Adams

Married to his high-school sweetheart, he spent his entire life waiting to be a dad. Twenty months ago, he met his baby girl Savannah for the first time. They were planning their first family trip to Disneyland next week.

Michael Raymond Wetzel

A devoted husband and father, he leaves behind his six young children. His wife was a stay-at-home mom, and without him, they've lost all their financial support. There is a fund to help them here.

Shannon Johnson

He worked for the department for ten years. A big sports fan and an animal lover, he always had a range of pets, from dogs and cats to iguanas and finches. After his divorce, he went out to California for a fresh start.

Lawrence Daniel Kaufman

Lawrence worked at a local coffee shop. His boyfriend says he was the type of person that would make homemade trinkets and give them to someone just because he was thinking of them. He was quirky and lovely, and genuinely went out of his way to help people.

There is a profound loss in the individuals human beings that were taken away, and the families and friends that were left behind in their wake.

To everyone that may be suffering, here is my message:

We stand with you.