There are so many events occurring in today’s world that I could try to express my thoughts and feelings about, however I am going to attempt in this short essay to share a recent experience that exposed me to the reality of violence in our schools and our country.
I have read that there have been more mass shootings in 2023 than days in the year. This has left my heart aching and my head spinning. I thought about Nashville, Buffalo, Uvalde, and I began to exhaust my emotions around those experiences. The fear, anguish, and unrelenting trauma left behind is something we must attend to now.
Earlier in the school year a series of calls went out to high schools and local law enforcement agencies warning of active shooters on campuses here in Vermont. I experienced one of those situations first hand and it has left me alert, frightened, and advocating for change. While we know there is a mental health crisis in this country, it is also apparent that our gun laws need to change. In order to ensure safety it is imperative to also recognize that we cannot fix mental health as quickly as we can the laws surrounding access to weapons.
I was in Spanish class with five other classmates and a substitute teacher when the lock down was called into place. We were on the second floor with windows facing the front of the building. Everyone was using their phones to try and elicit more information while our substitute, who tried their best, was asking us what they should do next. I can’t even describe the feelings as I’d never felt my body that way before.
We secured the room and got a glimpse of what was happening outside the building below. Cars had gathered and law enforcement was rolling in. Police officers showed up in full gear and headed into our building. At that point, all we knew was there had been an active shooter threat at our school. The small group of us gathered together on the floor in the back of the room. I messaged my older sister and held the hand of the girl next to me. She was falling apart. We sat, waited for instructions, messaged loved ones, and even prayed. It had become our reality even if it was only a hoax.
These occurrences have become a normal part of our lives. We just don;t know when the next mass shooting may actually involve any of us. It is time to reexamine the laws that provide safe and secure places for people to live, learn, and exist. It’s time to make gun reform a national priority.