'Condolences aren't enough' in aftermath of Virginia Tech shootings

Editor:

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Our class is writing these, not as an assignment, but a memorial. Everyone is talking, whispering about what to write.

We live in a world now, where bomb threats and school shootings happen far too often. And when someone walks into school with a gun, it's not a drill or a simulation to test teachers and students. It's real! And they're happening all over the country.

When something like this happens, condolences aren't enough. To say sorry isn't enough. But sometimes it's all someone can say. We don't know what the people need to hear. For some, it's sympathetic words. For others, it's promises that actions are being taken to prevent this tragedy from happening again.

All I can offer is my sympathy. Something like this school shooting never should have happened, and should never happen again. But, for now, I can't say how sorry I am that it did happen.

I pray that all students and families affected get the support they need to make it through this dark time.

Erika Blair

Eighth grade

Grovetown Middle School

Erika Blair's letter was one of many written by Grovetown Middle eighth-grade students as an assignment after completion of CRCTs. Her teacher, Gabrielle Moore, submitted the letter.