Dear world,

Now I know that’s a whole lot of people to address, and I am only a 19-year-old girl who has yet to really make anything of myself, but luckily with the help of social media and the internet, I have a voice. And I hope to use this voice for good. This world is imperfect, and I know it is ridiculous to ever expect perfection from the human race but the fact is, we can improve -- and we have much room to improve. In light of recent acts of violence -- terrorist attacks, the discrimination and violence against people of color at the hands of police, the murder of police and so on -- my heart aches.

My heart literally hurts from all of the pain, suffering and injustice in this world. And at first when I learned of these recent events, I felt disheartened. I cried tears of frustration, because how could this happen? How can there still be discrimination against people for the melanin in their skin? How can there still be so much violence and pain? Where is the peace? Where is the love?

And I felt helpless, because sometimes it feels as if the world and society is making progress, and sometimes events like these remind me that we still have a long way to go towards peace and equality. We need to come together because if you stand back and look at everything that’s happened, it’s all a little ridiculous. This does not mean do nothing, but this does not mean act out in violence. I feel the anger, frustration and devastation from these recent events -- believe me, I do. Use your voice. Protest peacefully. Spread the message of love, equality and peace. Educate yourself and others on these issues. We have come this far, and we can go further.

All lives matter, yes. But right now, we need to focus on black lives because they are still being killed because of the color of their skin. They are scared and I am scared that this is happening. People of color are being discriminated or are victims of violence because of the color of their skin, and the same cannot be said for white people because reverse racism does not exist. The discrimination and divide between race is still imminent. Recognize this problem, and work to be a part of the solution.

When I think of the injustices in this world, "Imagine" by John Lennon plays in my head (as cheesy as that sounds). But just imagine, a world where we don’t wake up to heartbreaking news such as these recent events. These issues should bring us together to work towards peace, not divide us. This world and our society is flawed, and it always will be, but change can be made. We just have to keep working towards it.