Appreciate those who are still here

Violence, gunshots, and death, these words scare me. Growing up in a town called Oakland seems very uncertin, living day to day not knowing who will be a victim next. However, it came as a shock to me when my sister called me on Monday to tell me the tragic news. Good friends of my parents recently lost their son to gang related violence. He was only 20 and died on Saturday June 21st. Two days later, my parents’ friends decided to watch the news and became very interested because the clip showed a young man being shot at and immediately died. He was surrounded by a mob of passersby who immediately called the police. The parents thought to themselves, “Poor guy, his parents would be devastated to know their son had just died.” That was when it hit them; their son has not been home for a few days. He was always out for a few days, then came home for a day and then continued to disappear. They quickly called the police and reported him missing. Immediately the police told them that their son was involved in a shooting and was shot to death on Saturday. Tears started to pour down their faces and their hearts were both destroyed at that moment. You hear of people dying all the time, but when it’s a loved one, it’s extremely difficult and emotionally heartbreaking. I know An and I know that he’s young and just uncertain. He’s not a bad kid and it breaks my heart to hear how lost both his parents are after his death. They have cried a river and can no longer shed any more tears. My sympathy goes out to his family; they are really sweet people and I wish I can undo the pain. What saddens me the most is that violence seems to be out of control since I have graduated from high school. One by one, the people I know slowly become victims of violence. An is the sixth person and I hope is the last. I do not understand why people have to kill one another just to prove they are more supreme and better than the rest. Does taking a life make a person seem more invincible and hardcore? Or does it make the world a scarier place? Does having the ability to make someone else suffer necessarily mean one is powerful and almighty? Life is a precious thing and no one in this world has the right to take that away, at least not to violence and hatred. I urge each and everyone of you to live each day without regrets and make sure your loved ones know you love them with the purest of heart. You never know who may be the next victim, whether it is to violence or an accident, because life is indeed very uncertain and too short. Rest in peace An, you will be missed.