On Friday, June 10th, I left Orlando to visit my family back home for a little while. I just now returned to Orlando (6 days later) and I still cannot get over all of the horrific things that happened while I was gone. On Friday night, a young singer named Christina Grimmie was shot and killed after a performance here in Orlando. She was only 22 years old. She had her entire life and career in front of her and now it's gone. If that wasn't horrible enough, on Saturday night (technically early Sunday morning, June 12th, a gay night club called Pulse was attacked by what the news is calling a terrorist. This man committed what will now be known as the worst mass shooting in U.S. History! 49 lives were taken from this earth and 53 are still fighting for their lives as I write this. I have been to this club. Personally, I prefer LGBT friendly clubs because they are welcoming and as a woman, I never feel unsafe in clubs like this. It was a Saturday night, I could have very well been at that club that night. I could have been one of the 49 victims that didn't get to wake up the next morning. I can't even imagine the phone call to my parents. My mom would have probably just killed herself after hearing the news that I was shot to death. I have spent all week reading article after article. I have learned about the victims and the lives that were cut far to short for them. It makes me so emotional. Personally, I didn't know any of the people that were killed but they were human beings that were friends, daughters, mothers, sons, dads, wives, husbands, partners, and more. Most of them were in their 20s. They were going to school and just starting their lives! The fact that one man whom is so incapable of acceptance or even just tolerance of all people we share this earth with just blows my mind. My heart hurts for all the lives that were lost and all the families and friends that are mourning those losses right now. Moving to Orlando in 2013 changed my life. I would have never been exposed to all the cultures and groups of people that are here. I am from a town that is mostly white and I honestly never even knew of someone in the LGBT community before coming here. My world was finally opened up and I was able to meet and even become best of friends with such a variety of people. I really just had my eyes open to something that I would have never seen if I didn't take the leap and move out of my small little town. I wouldn't say I am a very religious person but I do believe in God and my take is that God creates all of us, he loves all of us. He made us the way we are so why do people have such a struggle with realizing that we are all equal. Our differences are just what make us special. I really just wanted to write this as a message to love eachother, love yourself, and be thankful for the people in your life. You never know when your last day will be or when theirs will be. ......also, I just want to take a moment to honor Lane Graves who also lost his life in Orlando this week. Lane was two years old and was attacked by an alligator near a Disney resort. Too many lives were taken this week. Be grateful for yours and your loved ones.
Just in case no one has told you yet today, you are beautiful.
<3 Love, Lex
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