#IfIDieInASchoolShooting is the trending hashtag that shouldn't be

I remember being in school and having legitimate concerns and worries; like if I forgot my lunch money in my other jacket, did I remember all of my assignments, and a myriad of other social concerns.

What I never had to worry about in school was dying in a school shooting. Yes, there had been mass shootings before. Columbine happened years before I even went to high school. Still, many of us wrote that and the previous shootings off as one offs, rare and unfortunate events that should have never happen but unlikely to be repeated.

One generation later and God, how things have changed. Last week, there were 3 school shootings. There have already been more than 20 this year alone.

The situation for the current body of high school, middle school, and grade school kids has become so dire, that there is now a hashtag on Facebook called #IfIDieInASchoolShooting.

I'm gonna try and get a hashtag trending called #IfIdieInASchoolShooting. If you wanna join, feel free. #IfIdieInASchoolShooting I will never be able to finish my animated TV series, I'll never be able to see my sister again, and I will have to become a martyr. #NeverAgain

— Andrew Schneidawind (@SoldierSchnyd) May 20, 2018

This is the state of things. And this is the hope we adults have given to those younger than us. They are planning their own funerals.

#IfIdieInASchoolShooting or any shooting, I want to be buried right next to my brother.

— Zion Kelly (@zionkelly18) May 20, 2018

#IfIDieInASchoolShooting check my notes on my phone. i have letters already written to all my loved ones because i am terrified to walk into school.

— ˗ˏˋ tori ˊˎ˗ (@vtorigrace) May 21, 2018

Or telling us how to remember them after they are gone.

#IfIDieInASchoolShooting I’d get to see Carmen again

— Emma González (@Emma4Change) May 20, 2018

#IfIDieInASchoolShooting remember my name. Not the murderer’s. #NoNotoriety

— Alex Wind (@al3xw1nd) May 21, 2018

#IfIdieInASchoolShooting politicize my death. It’s not too soon to talk about guns. It’s too late.

— Sofie Whitney (@sofiewhitney) May 20, 2018

Or even what to do in response to the politicians who will most likely offer thoughts and prayers but do little else.

#IfIDieInASchoolShooting deliver my heart to dana loesch on a silver platter because she’s a heartless woman and clearly needs a new one.

— jordyn #NEVERAGAIN (@jordynzoe_) May 20, 2018

#IfIDieInASchoolShooting dump my body in front of the White House.

— john barnitt (@John_Barnitt) May 20, 2018

#IfIDieInASchoolShooting plaster my face outside of every politician Who accepts money from the NRA’s office so every day as they walk into work they have to look into the eyes of someone who died because of their inaction and think of their own children or someone they know.

— Lauren Hogg (@lauren_hoggs) May 20, 2018

#IfIdieInASchoolShooting remove my spine and give it to Paul Ryan, he needs it.

— shea🌻 (@SheaAlanna) May 21, 2018

Or wonder if anyone will even care at all.

#IfIdieInASchoolShooting y’all still won’t care because I’m black. pic.twitter.com/3kULo9rXme

— K.Elizabeth (@theKelizabeth82) May 20, 2018

Even teachers and administrators are getting in on it.

#IfIDieInASchoolShooting it's because I ran towards the shooter. It's now not only my job to teach math but to also become trained in combat to protect my students. I don't remember that class at university... because I didn't sign up for this!

— Jennifer Manning (@jbmanning12) May 21, 2018

#IfIDieInASchoolShooting I kept my promise to my students to always keep them safe.

— chelli plummer (@chelliplummer) May 21, 2018

#IfIDieInASchoolShooting it’s because I will be a human shield over my students before I see any of them not get a chance to live past 8 years old

— Emily Paul (@Empaul50) May 20, 2018

This is disgraceful. This shouldn't be a trending hashtag. This should not even be a thing.

But this is the sad state of where we are. This is America.

But instead of the impending back lash from gun enthusiasts, the NRA, or any Fox (bully) commentator (Laura Ingram), or the utter silence from politicians, we as a people, as a nation, need to hear this. School was always meant to be a place of learning, but maybe the think we ought to be teaching our students, our children, is that their lives do indeed matter, and we can make school, and mass shootings a thing of the past.

These are the voices of our country's future. They will shape where we as a people will go in the coming years. Each one of these children and teachers deserves to be heard.