With tears threatening to spill out of my eyes, I write this to you. My miniature American flag sits atop my desk, flowing with the breeze from my ceiling fan as my heart aches with hopelessness. Too often do I find myself casually unlocking my phone, only to be met with a painfully-summarized headline announcing yet another national tragedy. I write this to you who was sitting on the couch, in the car or at a restaurant when you were hit with the same news. I write this to the fear within all of us that has us choked for words, begging for hope.

The cursor blinks mockingly at me as I stumble through scrambled thoughts in my head. I immediately feel powerless and drained when I hear of these tragedies. I empathize with the victims and tremble with fear. I squeeze my eyes shut with discomfort and squirm as if I have just woken up from a nightmare. My first instinct is not to think about politics. I first think of humanity. I overhear a monotone voice through the television’s speakers, reciting statistics, and I want to shut it off. I want to mute it all, but that won’t make the situation go away. We are all in a state of constant shock. Americans across the country are attempting to cope, to understand, to plan their next move.

In situations like these, fear takes control of us. For a time, after an overwhelming tragedy occurs, people have second thoughts about going to the grocery store, and now, even to church.

“Don’t let fear get the best of you,” they say.

“We can’t live in fear,” they preach to us.

“The suspect is no longer a threat,” they assure us.

Every word feels hollow. Every time those phrases are recited, they lose more meaning. This country has endured far too much pain. Civilians have witnessed too much violence. Too many innocent lives have been ripped from our soil. Americans across the country have sat powerless in front of the television too many times.

There are only so many punches the heart can take, and we are quickly approaching humanity’s last straw. But we can love and we can hope. We can cherish what we have and we can spread awareness. We need to use the power of our individual voices to shout and scream that we have had enough. We must hold hands, lock arms and love in harmony. For every single lost life, we must stand taller. For every moment that we feel afraid, we squeeze our hands tighter. For every empathetic tear that we shed, we stomp our feet a little louder on the American soil below us and we refuse to lose faith.

Stop slumping in your seat. Wipe the tears from your face. Stand up, and spread the message that you are not afraid. Vocalize your emotions. Take advantage of the free speech you have and make your voice heard. Close your eyes and shake the fear from your bones. You are the future. Take the news into consideration, but do not let it consume you. Educate yourself, but do not let yourself drown in the paranoia. Do it for the ones we’ve lost. Raise your fist and vow to love. We will not let fear devour us.

Hope will be the last thing we lose.