A 17 Year Old’s View Point On The Apalachee High School Shooting
First of all, I want to start by give my thoughts and prayers to all the grieving families and friends who have been effected by these tragic deaths, and the one’s who are in the hospital rooms holding the hands of their loved ones who are in critical condition.
I, like many other high schoolers are the upmost fortunate to never have been forced to face the horrors of a school shooting first hand. In my 17 years on this Earth, I have grown to be afraid of many things. Snakes, spiders, the dark, the ocean. But something that has become exponentially more freighting to me day by day is the idea of a school shooting. The idea that the place where I am promised to be kept “safe” could be the place where I lose my life. The idea that the most mondaine and regular morning could be the last day I am able to wake up from my bed. The idea that when I am walking to my class, I get shot in the back of my head, and everything in life that I was looking forward to like starting a family, getting my dream job, helping my family, and most importantly, to have a positive impact on the word is just taken away from me in a literal blink of an idea.
I am scared of that. I am freighted by that. I am terrified by that.
I do not think that is fair. I do not think the innocent souls who had aspirations to do great things in this world who had their fire stomped out is fair. I do not think the dozens of school shootings that have ever happened are fair. I do not think a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a grandmother, a grandfather, a uncle, a aunt, a friend, a co-worker, a cousin, or anyone who has a close relationship to these souls should have to go through any of this is fair. I do not think the innocent souls who were maybe not effected physically by these tragedies, but have to face severe survivors guilt and have PTSD from the sound of gun shots in the hallways that they walked through everyday to get to their classes is fair.
I can talk about how unfair and tragic school shootings are for days and days, but I know that won’t bring the poor souls back. I know that would not do anything for the grieving families.
I know the damage has already been done, and we will never see those souls again because they are no longer with us and nothing can change that.
I wish I could say there is a solution to stop school shootings or any shooting from ever happening but I can not.
As long as we are on this Earth, tragedies and massacres like this will continue on until the end of time.
I do not think gun laws, or mental health issues always being correlated with shootings is true. Sure these two are some factors that go into shootings, but if we get rid of them, that does not mean this will simply solve the problem.
Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.
Mental health doesn’t make someone do things. Their actions and choices make someone do things.
Just because someone has a gun doesn’t mean they plan on killing innocent people.
Just because someone has mental health issues doesn’t mean they plan to kill people.
These are the two main reasons that I have seen be the cause for shootings. I understand why these reasons are popular and why people would think this way. But I do not believe taking away people’s guns or blaming mental health is the issue here.
There is no solution to shootings.
But I believe there are things that we can do to prevent and lessen the damage done by these shootings. I believe the most powerful action we can all take it too both speak up, and to always treat people with kindness.
I know this seems very Disney-like and is a very naive thing to say. I get that. But I think we as a society undermine how far a collective action towards a common goal can get us.
I like to believe that our actions helps us have a chance for the future of this country to grow without shootings happening in what feels like any other day.
Two things that are consistent throughout almost all shootings are:
- People do not report signs of a planned shooting before it is too late.
- The shooters often blame society for their actions.
I believe what we can all do is to not take statements from people who have malice ideas lightly, even though they might seem like they are a joke. If you see someone you believe could have the intentions of doing a horrible deed like this ever, never let it go over your head, and always tell someone you can trust who can help dissolve the situation to make sure that even the 1 percent chance of the person doing what they said they were going to do does not happen. Because who knows, you might be saving innocent people’s lives because of this.
I also believe that we need to be better as a society with being simply nicer to one another. Even though I do not think anyone has the right to do any of this because they were not treated well or bullied, it does not mean that we all should not make a conscious effort to smile and be nice to everyone we see. Because who knows, you might be saving innocent people’s lives because of this.
I can all of us as a society to be better, and to always help each other up no matter if we know each other or not, because it could be the difference in preventing a tragedy.
To end off this article about the angles that were taken away from us too soon, I pray to God that even though it is very unlikely, I still like to hope that we or no one else has to go through any of this in the future, and that these lives and the other innocent souls who have been taken away from us do not die in vain.
May these innocent souls Rest In Peace:
Richard Aspinwall, 39
Cristina Irimie, 53
Christian Angulo, 14
Mason Schermerhorn, 14
Thank You for reading this article. As a highschooler, this is a very sensitive topic of mine, because I can not help but imagine myself in these poor souls’s shoes. I have never had to face the horrors of a shooting in my life, but I hope whoever has that God blesses their souls, and if they are not here with us, that they have a place in heaven for eternity.
Here is a gofundme for the Apalachee HighSchool victims if you wish to donate:
YouTube videos discussing the shooting and victims:
Thank You,
Mahan Nourian
