To the victims, I am so sorry this happened to you. It is not fair or right that you had to endure this pain. For the two that tragically lost their lives, I am even more sorry. Losing life so young is not fair in any way. You are loved and you will be remembered among your family, friends, and community. They will not forget about you.

To the parents of the victims, I can not imagine what you are going through. I know it must be difficult. I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I know it must be difficult to watch your children go through this pain, my prayers are with you and your children’s recovery. To the parents that lost their children, I am even more sorry. Know how loved your children are by their friends. Know that your children will not be forgotten among their friends. Know that your children do matter.

To the friends and students at Marshall, I am sorry. I know how hard it is to lose a close friend and classmate. It is not easy. For awhile it will seem like your friend is still there and nothing bad ever happened. Years from now, you will still think of them. You will visit them every chance you get, just to talk about what they have missed. You will cry. It can hit at random moments; when you graduate, when you start college, when you start a new job. You will think of what it would be like if they were there with you. It is hard, but you have to remember how happy they would be to see you living your life and growing up to the person you are meant to be. You have your memories with them, and you will not forget them. Make sure to stick together with the rest of your friends. Spend time with your friends. It will be weird without them there, but staying together with your friends will help you heal.

To the educators, I’m sure this is a hard and crazy time for you. I can not imagine what it is like to lose a student. Please remember that those two students have friends that love them, and that there will be times in class that their loss will hit them. And they will need to cry. Please understand that and let them leave the classroom. It could happen at little things. If they were partners for a project, if they sat next to each other, or if they would just talk during class. It is extremely hard for them to deal with that loss. Please take this tragic event and make the school better. If you see a child struggling, help them. If you see a child being bullied, make it stop. If you see a child needing encouragement, give it to them. You have so much power and impact in your student’s lives and you need to make sure you are making a positive difference in their lives. Grow from this and make Marshall County better.

To the community, I know this is a difficult time. Take time to heal and then use this tragedy to improve the community as a whole. Be there for you children, and if you see them struggling with anything, talk to them about it. You never know what is going on at school or with their friends, and sometimes they can be to scared to say anything or they think that they can handle it on their own. Make sure they know that you are there for them and that they can come to you with anything because sometimes kids do not know that.