#RIPChristinaGrimmie

"Would you still care if she weren't a celebrity?"

Yes.

Christina Grimmie died last night. I found out while in line for Disneyland's carousel as Richard looked up from his phone and addressed us with the question, "Do you guys know who Christina Grimmie is?" Most of us sort of just shrugged and said, "Yeah, why?" "She died about an hour ago." I felt a chill run down my spine as I processed his words. I wasn't very much of a fan not because she wasn't talented but because I hadn't known her that well or had followed her work. But that didn't stop the death from being important.

She was 22 years old. It breaks my heart to see her taken from this world at such a young age. Granted, no age justifies the kind of cold-blooded murder that took place Friday night, but just imagining that she was only 5 years older than I am... It can't be real. Why? Who was this person that he thought it was justified to take her life? What gives someone the right to take away the life of another? Why was it so easy for his 2 guns to pass security and make its way to ending Christina's short-lived life? And I can't even begin to question what her family must be feeling right now. Can you even imagine? She woke up that morning with no idea that she wouldn't be able to go home and greet her dog or lie in her bed as she thought about all the wonderful things she had planned. She never got to meet the love of her life and get married. She never got to do any of the things she had probably planned for the rest of her life because some bastard cut it way too short because of God-knows-what.

But she's not the only one. She's not the only one who's been shot dead by a stranger or an acquaintance or a close friend or a student... you name it. Yes, the United States has a lot of these cases but that does NOT make any one of them less valuable. Life is so fragile and yet we treat it with such apathy. Is it because we've seen so many deaths now it doesn't even matter? Is it because we depend on this idea of an afterlife that death is less intimidating? Life is so precious and yet we hear this kind of news and go, "Oh, another one?" No. It should NOT be "just another death". It is another life that we have to say good-bye to. It is another person who will never experience everything they deserved to in their lifetime. It is another victim of this society that has failed to protect them and ensure them their inalienable rights.

And I can't help but think that this is all our faults. Sure we may not have been the one to pull the trigger, but our society is allowing and possibly propagating these crimes and atrocities. It's a beautiful thing to see all the Facebook posts go up and all the tributes made, but what happens after those? We just forget and move on? We say, "Oh well, we've made the post. I guess that's it," and move on? While the families are mourning the death of a loved one, we are able to continue with our lives because the death wasn't our own or wasn't even close to us? We are allowing this to continue. We are NOT doing anything about this. We clean up the remains, read the articles, post some things, and shrug it off as "just another case."

And what is our government doing? I'm not the most informed person to be writing about this. But this is what I do know. The National Rifle Association (the NRA) has a large hand in supporting many congressmen and presidential candidates, so they are uanble to vote for any anti-gun movements and amendments in fear that their power will be stripped away from them. Oh boohoo. Who cares if you lose some of your "power"? Is it more important than someone's life? Is it more important than saving a poor, unsuspecting family from a lifetime supply of guilt? And even if you can't ban guns, at least make it harder to procure them. I saw this post on Twitter that mentioned how obtaining guns should be as difficult as it is to get an abortion. We all have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Or at least that's what the Constitution tells us. But are we really living if we are always in a state of fear of our lives when we step outside our homes? Are we really free when we are shackled by the threat of a mass shooting or a stranger armed with a gun? Are we really able to pursue our happiness when we are busy mourning the death of those around us, victims of a not-so-victimless crime?

Christina Grimmie died on June 10, 2016. Let's not let it just trend for a couple of weeks. Because next time, it could be any one of us. So live your life to the fullest and let's not let her death be in vain.