What Is The Future Without Children?

Yesterday students across the nation took part in a walkout to use their presence and their voices to stand up against the far too many lives that have been lost due to school shootings. Every student that participate took 17 minutes out of their day, their education, and took 17 minutes to reflect on the magnitude of the situation we’re facing in this nation. Those 17 minutes signified the 17 lives so tragically lost on February 14 in Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

 

When I first got an email from the middle school principal letting parents know that they were anticipating student participation, like many other parents, it opened up for conversation with my daughter.

Okay so I may have ended it before it started but we eventually got there. I told her I didn’t want her participating in the walkout which only ensured I got an onslaught of attitude and sass about how she doesn’t get to make her own decisions.

Welcome to 13.

I wanted to have a conversation about it but she just wasn’t having it. I proceeded to send her to school with a note giving her permission to participate if she wanted to, which she was shocked about. I told her she had a choice to make and the only reason I didn’t want her to participate was because as people, we need to think, ‘will my actions help solve a problem or will they create more issues’ and that’s where I wanted her to think.

My daughter did end up participating in the walkout, to no surprise to me. I never brag but I’ve done it right, that girl would stand up for anybody and does stand up for everybody. There weren’t many from her school that participated, but she was able to make a choice and afterwards our conversation happened.

The safety of our children when they aren’t at home is on the line more than ever and that's a horrible thing to think about. I am not anti-gun and I'm not here for a heated debate, in fact I just applied to get my FOID card (just a delayed process on my end) and I enjoy the range. However, it is beyond clear that as a nation we are doing something horribly wrong and it’s costing the lives of our children at a rapid rate.

My former high school also participated in a walkout. That participation consisted of so many students that they were able to send a very clear message as seen in the photo below. And while my daughter’s middle school may not have had that many participants, she felt that the school heard them. They are now going to teach kids about mental health.

 

We need to first stop fighting with each other and instead fight for a betterment - together.

 It’s the only way any real change will ever happen.