My heart is so heavy. My thoughts and my prayers are with those who have fallen victim to the abundance of recent tragedies. I couldn't even imagine what their families are going through.

Why is this all happening? It's not right nor is it fair. Not for one second will I believe this is how it was meant to be--that people were meant to be this way: cruel and evil. I won't stand for it. I won't stand for the numerous terrorist attacks on our country. I won't stand for the unfairness of innocent lives taken from this earth. We cannot let hatred out drive love because we are only human, not weapons.

Every time I turn on the t.v., I prepare myself for the uttermost devastating news. Nine times out of ten, that's what I would end up hearing about. To see some light shed on positive stories once in a while brings me great joy, happiness, and most importantly, hope. I've become so numb to all the violence happening in our country and across the globe to the point I'd ask myself, "Is it normal?". Will we ever find world peace? I'm waiting on that day--that moment in time things start to get better. When we, as people, come together and reconstruct our limits. I may not have the answers or the solution to the problem we're facing, but what I do hold is a belief because sometimes hope is all we have.

For all the passionate students I've met, playful children I've observed at parks sparking their imagination with others, families nurturing and guiding their loved ones through the chaos of an amusement park or the beach, it's in these moments I realize the pure magic of connection makes us forget about anything else. So fight for hope. Don't lose sight of what matters most to you.