July 9th 2016
The day I found that Tem exists on this planet.
February 18th 2018
The day Tem and I hit half a year on our snap streak.
Pretty insignificant stuff in the grand scheme of things but I wanted to, in this personal place, hold these moments. Milestones, no matter how negligible, time capsules, snapshots of my life.
January 20
Najee Ali Baker was killed on the campus of Wake Forest University.
January 22
15-year-old student was wounded in a shooting at a high school in Italy, Texas, authorities said.
January 23
15-year-old student shot 16 people killing two other 15-year-olds at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky, authorities said.
January 31
A fight led to a shooting in the parking lot of Lincoln High School in Philadelphia, fatally wounding a 32-year-old man.
February 1
15-year-old boy was shot in the head and a 15-year-old girl shot in the wrist at Sal Castro Middle School in Los Angeles. Two other students were grazed by bullets.
February 5
High school student was shot in the parking lot of Oxon Hill High in Maryland. The victim was treated and later released.
February 9
High school student was shot five times in the parking lot of Pearl-Cohn High School in Nashville.
February 14
19-year-old Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
8 shooting on school grounds in 6 1/2 weeks for 2018
February 15
18 year old Joshua Alexander O’Connor planned to kill his classmates at ACES High School Everett, Washington with a semi-automatic rifle found hidden in a guitar case, as well as homemade explosive devices. "I'm preparing myself for the school shooting,” the teenager wrote, according to court documents. “I can’t wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate ... I can’t wait to walk into that class and blow all those fuckers away." In his journal, he also expressed how much attention he had paid to creating the plot and how many of his classmates he hoped to kill. “I’ve been thinking alot [sic],” the entry said. “I need to make this shooting/bombing at Kamiak infamous. I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can. I need to make this count. I’ve been reviewing many mass shootings/bombings (and attempted bombings),” he added, according to the court documents. “I’m learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes, so I don’t make the same ones.”
How many children are writing the same journal entries in this country right now? How many are planning right now whether in their head or on paper as evidence?
Thursday my school practiced a level three lock down drill. I sat in the dark with my classroom door locked with all of my students huddled against the cabinets and I could only think to myself how I would actually react. How could I keep my students safe? How could I defend them or instruct them to be silent or fight or run if need be?
Friday night I went to a burlesque show at Bossy Grrl's Pin Up Joint with Vanessa and Mike throughout the show I kept having thoughts similar to how I felt at Highball. My mind thinking about how safe and fun everyone felt at Pulse in Orlando back in 2016. What is the difference between that night and this night? Nothing...absolutely nothing. Simply chance and luck. The same is true for my school and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. The same for Highball and Vegas... simply luck and chance.
It's strange feeling more and more unsafe in my own country, in my own city... America has always had this arrogance this illusion of trust in government that we are safe but we aren't.
In New York someone drove a vehicle on a sidewalk.
In Columbus someone walked into a restaurant with a machete.
In California someone opened fire in a center for developmental disabilities.
In Columbus someone drove up on the sidewalk and started swinging a knife on campus.
Night clubs in Florida,
Concerts in Nevada,
Movie theaters in Colorado,
Elementary schools in Connecticut,
Counter-protests in Virginia,
at any moment anywhere people can be murdered in this country.
There's no reason to think it will end or be prevented in the future.
I hope there never comes a day I must protect and defend my students. If anything happened to any of them, especially while they are in my care, I would be ruined.
The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar - Pray For Me