When I heard about the MSU shooting, like the rest of the country, I was not surprised.

I was not surprised when I heard about the UVA shooting, or the Uvalde shooting.

Unfortunately, this generation has grown accustomed to school shootings. We’ve been taught to run, hide, and fight, and to practice code red drills until we learned how to stay completely silent.

I keep my phone with me at all times, terrified that I’ll have to text my family group chat one last “I love you” message. Children at elementary age are taught that they will not always be safe in their classroom, the one place they are supposed to learn how to thrive and be themselves.

There was a student at MSU seen in the background of a news broadcast wearing an ‘Oxford Strong’ sweatshirt. He was a student at Oxford High School during the 2021 shooting. Not only did he live through a school shooting, but he had to do it twice.

When I leave for college, I don’t want to have to worry whether or not I get to go home for spring break. I’m tired of having to constantly think about my safety and not the education I’m there for.