By Rachel Weinsoff
The texts started pouring in at 2:40 p.m. on Valentines Day.
“OMG.
“Shooting at Douglas rn?”
“Is this a drill?”
The rest of Valentine’s day was a blur. We huddled together watching a live feed of our local news station and graphic videos being texted to us that no one should ever have to see, nonetheless, witness. Every minute I was reminded of another friend whose sibling still attends Douglas. It seemed like we were running down a checklist, making sure that people we knew were alive and safe.
On Wednesday, February 14, when Nikolas Cruz walked back into my former high school, everything changed. My community, my high-achieving school and my friends and family would never be the same.
My friends and I tried to go to the library and study for my quiz the next day. We tried to pay attention in class. Social media was haunting. After class, my roommate and I looked at each other and simply started packing. We needed to be home. Parkland, our safe haven, needed us — and we needed to grieve with our community.
Related: What You Can Do to Help the Parkland Victims
This past Friday night, I visited a memorial at a local park, normally the home of recreational soccer games, field days and laughter. That night, though, 17 angels stood on its stage, and memorials were covered in flowers, candles and posters from friends and schools across the country. Sobs could be heard from every direction. On Friday night, high school seniors sat by their friends memorial for hours. They should have been laughing and taking pictures at parties, talking about how excited they are for prom and graduation.
When asked where I’m from, I typically respond with, “Ft. Lauderdale area,” or “South of Boca Raton.” Nobody knew where Parkland was, nonetheless, what it was. I’m going to miss that sense of privacy. However, I have never been prouder to be from Parkland, FL, and I’m proud to be an alumna of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
From the young students who are saying #NeverAgain and the more than 10,000 alumni who are coming together to fundraise and join a “Mobilizing MSD” group — to the heroes Coach Feis, Coach Hixon and Mr. Beigel, who risked their lives to protect the students of MSD — the past few days have proven the strength of the Parkland community.
To the people asking if I knew anyone who was affected, let me tell you a little bit about Parkland. Parkland isn’t just a small town you have never heard of — it’s a family. Everyone knows everyone, and if you were not directly impacted, your best friends from high school’s little sister was. Your family friends from temple or church are suffering losses. Almost everyone I know drove or flew down from college to grieve with and support our community.
This weekend was filled with heartbreak, tears and anger, but I am confident that Parkland will not succumb to the evil that took 17 beautiful angels from us.
Parkland will prevail, and I really hope Parkland will be the last.