Once again, we the American people have suffered at the hands of yet another shooter. In the span of one week, four mass shootings have occurred nationwide — it started with Gilroy, CA on July 28, and seven days later El Paso, TX on August 3, then Dayton, OH, and finally Chicago, IL both happening less than 24 hours later. Together, these shootings have left over a hundred people either dead or injured. The victims' ages ranged from the late 80s to just months old.

As sad as it sounds, mass shootings have become a somewhat normalized part of our society. At school, we participate in active shooter drills — we barricade the doors and arm ourselves with whatever items we can scramble up. Active shooter drills are the absolute antithesis of fire, evacuation, or even tornado drills. I know for a fact that virtually nobody in high school takes the later three drills seriously — I remember we'd often make a mockery of them and idly walk through the halls laughing and joking.

Active shooter drills couldn't be more different. Every single person had a plan on who they would text, what they would say, and what they would do if the shooter came into the room. Even though we knew it was only a drill, the fear and stress were apparent on each and every student's face, "what if this is real?" running through the back of their mind.

It's not only students who attempt to prepare for the worst, but parents as well. In a desperate attempt to protect their children, parents have added the bulletproof backpack to their children's school supply list. The popularity of these soared following the MSD school shooting in Parkland, Florida. They're not the best protection, but it gives parents some peace of mind knowing that their children have some means of protection at school.

We are devastated.

We are disappointed.

We are angry.

We are devastated to hear that parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, children have been massacred at the hands of yet another madman wielding a gun. We are disappointed in our politicians because they send their "thoughts and prayers" and promise us with resolutions that we know are never to come. We are angry because we are scared, scared of being gunned down when we go to the mall, to the movie theater, to school. We don't ask for much, all we want is common-sense gun reform to put an end to this senselessness.