The Hope in Activism
Hope fuels our thoughts and aspirations. It is an idea that carries us forward in life, leading us to the next best opportunity. Hope sparks joy, allowing us to feel as if we can accomplish anything.
The only obstacle in our way are doubts, which diminish with a greater sense of hope. We hope that life goes smoothly, that inconveniences do not throw us off our path. We hope that the bubble we have built around us stays intact, that the world’s hatred does not harm us.
Sometimes, however, hope doesn’t cut it.
The serenity we build in our lives can be torn down in an instant. We begin to feel that reality is playing tricks on us, that the truth is not accurate. That, for example, the news did not just report a school shooting twenty minutes away from you. That they did not just announce it was at Stoneman Douglas.
I remember grabbing my phone and texting my friend. ‘I heard what’s happening at your school. Are you okay?’ I wrote it absentmindedly, not realizing the impact of those words and if the reality of what I was hearing was indeed true. I instantly got a response: ‘I don’t know what’s happening, there are loud pops. I’m in a closet with teachers and my classmates.’
My heart dropped when I read the next line. ‘I’m so scared.’
Neither of us knew what was happening. I was on my way home from school, tuning into the radio broadcast detailing the horrifying event. I continued to text my friend, desperately wishing with every second that she would respond. That the texts would not suddenly stop.
That my friend was still alive.
My phone chimed again. ‘I love you.’ But I reassured her as best as I could. I told her I loved her and that she would get home safely. That her family would see her again. I said all this without knowing the extent of what was happening. By this time, the shooting had stopped. It had stopped twenty minutes before I began texting my friend, but I didn’t know that, and neither did she.
I didn’t know whether she got home or not, but I found out later that she did. I also didn’t know that a classmate I grew up with got shot and survived, until my parents heard it on the news the next day. I didn’t know that 17 people had died at Stoneman Douglas, but I woke up to this news the next morning.
I went to school, but didn’t smile or laugh like I normally did. In fact, I fell into a depression for a week, not knowing what to do with myself. At school, I kept my head down and fought back tears as the principal came on the announcements for 17 seconds of silence.
The truth is not easy to believe. However, once it settles, you learn how to handle it. People face the truth in different ways, but for me, I turned to activism.
Getting involved in an area I originally knew little about was daunting. Information on gun violence is plentiful and solutions are numerous, but I did not know where to begin.
The doubts started to creep in, the hope began fading away. I began to settle with Parkland being another statistic, one that no one would remember, and one that I would never forget.
One morning, that changed.
I heard a group of students from Stoneman Douglas were planning a march in Washington, DC, with local marches throughout the United States. A movement was forming little by little, and to create positive change, I knew I wanted to be part of it.
On March 24, 2018, I attended a powerful march in Parkland, demanding change and paying respects as we walked up to the school. The energy was palpable. I felt the intense need to continue with these students, to help them in this movement and make sure that others did not go through what we did.
The hope that I previously lost was slowly coming back. No more were the days of sadness and fear. No more were the moments of living in the unknown, wishing that my friends at Stoneman Douglas were back home and safe. That they made it out of school physically okay and alive.
The movement was growing and it eventually became known as March For Our Lives. I joined a local chapter during my first year in college in Orlando. The students in this group are incredibly passionate, knowledgeable, and helpful.
They welcomed me into the chapter and began to show me the ropes. Voter registration drives and phone banking became part of my vocabulary. I learned how to engage with the Orlando community and join forces with local politicians to demand action.
I learned more about the legislative process in action, rather than reading it from a textbook. I learned about strategies to effectively mobilize and to share information with others in an unbiased manner. Most importantly, I learned the value of change and how to become a driving force for it.
The March For Our Lives team recently brought A Peace Plan For a Safer Florida to the legislators in Tallhassee on November 14th.
As the first state to implement this plan at a state level, the plan implements C.H.A.N.G.E. in accordance with a detailed and strategic approach to gun violence prevention. C.H.A.N.G.E. stands for:
Change the standards of gun ownership
Halve the rate of gun deaths in 10 years
Accountability for the gun lobby and industry
Name a director of gun violence prevention
Generate community-based solutions
Empower the next generation
The students of March For Our Lives Florida hosted a press conference and demonstration at the Florida State Capitol to advocate for this plan. Talking points include the requirement of background checks on the sale or transfer of ammunition; defining the term “large-capacity magazine” and prohibiting the sale, transfer, or possession of them; asking the Governor of Florida for a resolution acknowledging that Florida has a gun violence issue rooted in racism and hate; and creating an Urban Core Gun Violence Task Force.
These measures, among all others listed in the Peace Plan, will bring about the change our politicians are afraid to make. We will stand strongly for these measures, ensuring that they are implemented and our voices are heard. The students fighting on the front lines to end the gun violence epidemic plaguing our country will win. The students who spend equal parts doing homework and actively fighting for change will win.
The students will end gun violence, and we will never lose hope.
