Whenever a tragedy strikes somewhere that isn’t your home, there is often a sense of detachment because “it’s never going to happen to me” and the effects aren’t directly altering your way of life. Everyone is guilty of it – even me. However, when a disaster arrives on your doorstep, your perspective changes. In June of 2016, a club in Orlando was struck by a shooter and many lost their lives. I live about four hours away in Miami, and I had all the sympathy in the world for the victims, but although it happened close to home, I still didn’t understand the ramifications of such an event. On Friday, January 6, 2017, there was a shooting at the Fort Lauderdale airport. Fort Lauderdale is forty-five minutes away from my house. People from Miami fly out of there, including my friends and family. Now that the holiday season is over many of my friends are traveling back to their respective colleges and universities and any of them could have been at that airport today. One of my friends actually was supposed to leave today and she was running late, had she been on time, she would have been there at the time of the shooting.

The fragility of life cannot be fully understood until it confronts you firsthand. It makes me appreciate the time I spend with my loved ones all the more because who knows if it’s the last time I’ll see them? Or the last time they’ll see me? Times like this remind me that it’s important to say thank you to those who have impacted your life, big or small. It also reminds me that change isn’t something to wait for, it’s something to create. More and more lives are being lost, and for what? It is our duty as global citizens to set an example of love, compassion, and tolerance in these trying times. Show that you are unafraid of the acts of terror humanity is being inflicted with. Stand up to the adversity we face, and let it not harden your heart. Instead, seize the opportunity to be a leader of peace in a world of hostility. I hope my words reach the minds of many and act as a catalyst for the creation of change in the increasingly violent world in which we live.

You don’t know what can happen in 24 hours, your world could be turned upside-down in a matter of minutes. Hug your loved ones, thank them for all they’ve done for you. Keep those affected by these types of tragedies in your thoughts and prayers. Tragedy knows no race, status, or gender – never think you are exempt from disaster.