No one has to die.

We are as real as the memories we have created. The joy. The happiness. The peace. The love. Most importantly, the love. Those things create who we are and who we were meant to be. And those things live on eternally.

I find it peculiar how those who practice violence think they are creating the end of an existence.  Do they not realize that yes, the body bleeds blood, but the soul bleeds love? Love lasting longer. In whatever way the violent try to vanquish the strength of love they are only proliferating it.

On Sept. 11, a timepiece of pain, the school started Rachel’s Challenge. A call to create a chain reaction of compassion. So we may link together, under a common goal, to end fear and hate, adding love. It’s not a war, it’s a change of heart. The challenge isn’t a struggle, it’s just about letting go. Letting the prejudice go, caused by fear. Letting the hatred go, caused by ignorance. Letting go of all the social stigmas and ideological dogmas, caused by upbringing. It’s a ceasing of societal tension, and becoming who we were born to be. A society accepting all individuality.

And no bullet, noose or missile can rip love’s flow from an individual. When Rachel Scott died in Columbine during 1999, it laid the platform for her message to be heard. It made her greater than just a schoolgirl with a dream. Death made her dream a reality. And as long as she continues to impact the lives of others, she is living. For there is one thing that is stronger than blood flow, and that is love. It gives Jesus reason. Buddha, too. Martin Luther King Jr.,  Gandhi and John Lennon changed the world and are continuing to shape the lives of others. They are alive as long as love.

Love is eternal. And we can be, too.