Today, I woke up in a country already staggering to stay on its feet. A few minutes later, I found myself living in a country that had fallen to its knees.

This morning I learned that while I slept, nearly 580 Americans were cut down in cold blood by a fellow citizen. While I went to sleep hoping for visions of Heaven, the city of Las Vegas and 20,000 concert-goers were living in a reality of hell.

I was too young to understand the events of 9/11 when they occurred. Last year at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, 49 people were killed and 58 were wounded in a terrorist attack.

For me, personally, it was one of the most horrifying events of my lifetime. 16 months later, I find myself utterly shaken to the core. Today, my heart bleeds for all of the people who have been affected by this despicable and barbaric domestic terrorist attack.

In this time of darkness, uncertainty and sadness, perhaps, now is the chance for all of us to come together as Americans and unite to repair the cracks that have opened up between us.

Today, we are faced with the aftermath of sinister actions against our nation. Tomorrow, we are tasked with picking up the pieces of countless shattered lives.

This is the time for all Americans to work together regardless of politics, ethnicity, gender or creed, to restore the balance of our great country.

We must not be afraid, and we must not falter. We cannot let those who died do so in vain. We, the people, have the power to join as one, and pick our nation up off its knees and raise it to new heights.

Today we are bent. Tomorrow we will show why America can never be broken when its people stand united as one.