- How are you feeling since the mass shooting at your school?
- Thank you for asking. I'm ok… but I don't even know how to describe it, really. I guess I still feel anxious about it.
- I'm sure you must be… I'm sorry to hear that you had to go through such a traumatic event. How did you learn about it?
- We all received the emergency text from the school that evening to "run, hide, fight"… the active shooter protocol. Then a shelter-in-place order was issued. I was in the library when I received the text, so I ran as fast as I could back to my dorm room and locked the door. Everyone was panicking.
- That is intense… I'm so glad that you are safe. How's your family handling it?
- They're very concerned about me. They've been texting and calling me constantly after the shooting to check if I'm still ok. You know, living half a globe away from our families is already tough enough, so adding mass shootings on top of it doesn't make anyone feel at ease.
- I totally hear you. Of course, your family is even more worried since they wish for you to have a better future while you study in America, but they feel helpless when it comes to protecting you… not to mention there are already more mass shootings here than the number of days we've had this year!
- Yeah… it's scary! Three students at my school were killed, and five others were injured. One of them was also an international student who was left paralyzed. It's not even the first time that I experienced a mass shooting firsthand here—I had it first in high school, just not as close as this time.
- Wow… I can't believe this is already your second time experiencing mass shootings in America! I hope you'll never have to go through that again. I wish that none of us will ever have to learn about these tragic events again.