March For Our Lives: through the eyes
If I weren't on a panel for Success in Academics Through Sports Business that morning these are the thoughts I assume I would hold thanks to the plentiful of social media posts I saw.
In June 2014, I moved from South Florida to my new home in Orlando. Two years later in June of 2016, my new home was struck by tragedy with the devastating shooting at Pulse Nightclub. With the wound from that night yet to be healed, nearly two years later, in February of 2018, my other home was shattered with the Parkland Shooting and the wound became a forever scar.
I decided that Enough was Enough. Inspired by my fellow peers and the younger, strong-willed generation rising beneath me, I decided to take action into my own hands. While I am only a single person, I feel that if I can make even the smallest ripple to ignite change, I am doing something.
On March 24th 2018, I joined the March for Our Lives with 25,000 of my other fed-up, inspired and relentless counterparts. In Downtown Orlando, we flooded the streets with our posters, our chants and our spirits. My fellow Orlando community marched in stride as millions more marched throughout the country, throughout the world. With Washington D.C. setting the stage, we felt and embraced the power 846 miles away. The world stood still as Emma Gonzalez stood in silence.
All ages stood beside me: "Grannies against Gun Violence", "The only thing I should be fearing in school is Finals" and "My Kids Should not be Afraid to go to the Movies". Standing in the beating sun, with my arms outstretched above my head, and my voice echoing in the streets as harmonious chants resonated between buildings, I felt the change coming. This generation won't be anesthetized as I felt the moment becoming a movement.
Shoutout to my friends in this video though!