Wave of Emotions Everyone Feels

With the media ramping up its reports on school shootings, how does one react when they hear about the event?  Is there sadness for the victims and the victim's families, or is there shock that an event like that could occur in the area it did?  In reality, there is no one answer, because so many thoughts go through someone's mind.  It does not matter if a person has a possible relation to the victims or that the person is watching it on the news half way around the country.  Everyone experiences more than at least one of the same emotions everyone feels.

For example, when the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting occurred, I was just in disbelief that something like that had to happen at an Elementary school, where there are little children who could be scarred for life.  Despite all the hiding drills me and my classmates participated in during Elementary school, I always believed that a scenario used in the drill would never occur in real life.  In hindsight, I could not believe how wrong I was.  No child should ever have to witness a classmate being murdered or be nearby when a shooter is in the vicinity.  Another emotion I felt was grief for the parents.  After hearing the fear, worry and sadness my parents had when I was diagnosed with a heart condition after being born, I could not even begin to imagine what the parents of the students felt when they found out that there had been a shooting at their child's school.  

The Wastick family's interview on CNN clearly show this when the father mentions that finding out a shooting occurred at his daughter's school was "shocking."  He also reveals that he was "shaken up" and was worried about "who else was in the building."  To the mother, she says that "it didn't even seem real" to her.  She later mentions "you read it in the papers, see it in the news and you're like, "oh my god, that poor family", but then something happens so close to home that it's like I think I'm still in shock."

As the reports were coming in throughout the agonizingly long day, I also felt a bit anxious hoping that they would eventually reveal not only the identity of the shooter, but also the motivation as well as the reason why he or she did this.  Deep down inside, I knew that the shooter was not just some psychopath who decided to just go on a rampage.  There had to be a specific reason why he or she has done this.  Ever since then, I would always ask myself this when I would hear about a shooting on the news.  With this blog, hopefully not only I, but everyone else will realize the impact school shootings have on the victims and the shooters.