I was so excited to go to college. To move in, meet new people, take new classes and learn more about my path in life. However, one of the first things I did after I moved in this August was take a minute to figure out how to open the window in my dorm. I had to make sure that I knew how to get out if a school shooting ever occurred.

My first week on campus went well. I had an amazing experience with the Philadelphia Service Immersion Program (PSIP), and I met so many wonderful people. I found so much love and joy, and I took that joy with me for the first day of classes.

After those first classes, I found out there had been a shooting at UNC-Chapel Hill. I panicked. Many of my friends are students there, so I immediately started texting people, making sure they were safe. Making sure they didn’t know anyone who was hurt. But one of my friends didn’t answer. For hours. And I didn’t know what to do. How do you do homework, play games or engage in hobbies when you don’t know if your friend is alive? How do you do anything but panic? But text every mutual friend? I don’t know. I kept asking, texting, pacing. I checked the news every five minutes. I cried. A lot.

My friend texted me back about six hours after the shooting occurred. Her texts hadn’t gone through earlier in the day. I learned that she had been walking to class when it all happened.

I think about what might have happened if she had been walking just a couple of blocks closer. I think about the pain I would feel or her family would feel if she had died. I think about how other people are feeling about professors and students that they know who have died.

Almost every day I read the news and find out about another shooting. And every time, thoughts and prayers are offered. I am a Catholic. I believe in the power of prayer. But I also believe in action. Action to strengthen the protection of all human life. Stronger red-flag laws, background checks, safe storage requirements and more, so myself and my fellow students can live past graduation. So our teachers, professors, faculty and staff don’t die trying to do their jobs. We all deserve that.