It was roughly 11 o’clock on a Sunday night when I received a call from my mother. Her tone was composed and yet urgent and scared, for reasons I did not yet understand. You see it was the night of October 1, 2017, and my mom was at a concert in Las Vegas, Nevada. That night was one of the most terrifying nights of my life, and I could not even imagine what it was like for those who lost a loved one. But that night changed something inside of me, because when an event such as the deadliest mass shooting in US history hits that close to home, it becomes personal.  This is not the first time a mass shooting has occurred, and as of November 5th, it was not the last time either. 58 people were murdered at this concert, and now 17 at a high school. Thirteen of which never even made it past 17 years of ag. school is a place where parents trust to drop their kids off for the day in order for a young mind to have the opportunity to blossom and grow. But growing and blossoming are the last things on the minds of students today. No, the thoughts occupying the minds of students are that when a fire alarm goes off, like it did at Oak Ridge on March 6th, their instinct is to freeze, terrified, knowing that a fire alarm being pulled was the beginning of the horrific events in Parkland. School shootings have become normalized in our society and we, the students, are sick of it. 

Adults have told us our entire life to grow up, to pay more attention to politics. Yet when we do decide to take a stand on an issue, they suddenly act shocked and tell us to be quiet, that we do not fully understand what is happening. They are not the ones afraid to go to school everyday. They are not the ones worrying more about where they would hide in a classroom than what the teacher is saying. They are not the ones hugging their friends and family and reminding them how much you love them, because you know everyday could be your last. We are the ones who live through the fear everyday and we know what we want, it is quite simple. We do not want to fear going to school for any reason other than a hard test. Now is our time to take action. Now is our time to stand united. Now is our time to march for our lives.