By Alex Bonardi, TIWP Student

When my mom used to stress over my schoolwork or my life, I would brush it off and respond with “everything will be fine; it always works out in the end”— and an eye roll. She would stress even more and I would put off my schoolwork even more. But now, I cannot confidently say that “everything will be fine” or that “everything works out in the end” because… what if it was me? What if it happened at my school? What if my life was taken away? Everything definitely would not have worked out in the end. Now everyone around me is living in fear, rather than simply living. “Who will it be next?” is more commonly thought about by the crowds of innocent students instead of “what do I have for lunch?” Never before have I questioned if I will live until lunch period—and why must I now? Why should I be scared that I could possibly watch my best friend’s life get taken away by a bullet? A piece of metal can change so many lives. I want things to change. I want confidence when I say that “everything will be fine” and “everything will work out in the end.” But that confidence has been ripped out of me by so many soulless, ignorant people.