It has to stop!

Day by day people are losing their lives so suddenly. It's disheartening, it's saddening, and it has to stop!

Friday morning, I received a text from my mom referring to a shooting that occurred the Thursday prior, June 28th where 5 were killed at Maryland's Capital Gazette Newsroom in Annapolis, Md.

Coming from a Journalism background, this incident hits close to home. Journalists and news reports around the world are oftentimes than not given a bap in the public eye for doing their job. Stating facts and keeping the public informed on current events both good and bad is the nature of the job. Yes, some of the occurrences that take place are negative but people should be informed on not only the positive ones but the one's that are hard to hear about.

When 38 year old, Jarrod W. Ramos walked into the newsroom that day the lives of editor Rob Hiaasen, 59, journalists Wendi Winters, 65, Rebecca Smith, 34, Gerald Fischman, 61 and sales associate, John McNamara were taken. My heart goes out to family, friends, and all those who knew them. No longer having someone physically present is hard but I want to encourage you all to continue living each day because whichever, of the 5 people you are connected to would want you too. Don't forget the memories you share and what they taught you! In a "perfect world," my hope would be that myself and others would not have to send condolences such as this due to someone's life being cut short because of an act of violence.

It's as if incidents such as this have become second nature. School shootings have been the forefront of news outlets lately where elementary, college students and more have lost their lives, among others. I can't forget to mention how shootings have occurred in other public settings such as churches and movie theaters.

I had the opportunity to work at an elementary-middle school the past year and we would do practice lock-down drills. There were at least 2-3 times throughout the year when I couldn't help but think "what if the lock-down was real or something happened that required one?" Thankfully, a real one never took place. I couldn't imagine what it would of been like if I could no longer look one of my students in the face.

Such events are reoccurring and inside I'm screaming, "IT HAS TO STOP!"

Constantly hearing about similar acts taking place that make you cringe, (which for me that includes, violent acts and children being mistreated to name a few) should make you want to do something about it. Whether it's raising more awareness of the issue or living a life reflecting the actions you want others to live. No, we can't control what other people do at the end of the day or the outcome of situations but we can be cautious, plan ahead, and play apart in influencing others in a positive way.

"You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own." -Michelle Obama

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I hope everyone had a great holiday! I enjoyed spending mine with my amazing mother and of course, the great food.

-KT