by Brad Blackburn III

I remember being in elementary school, huddled in the corner of a dark classroom as my teacher locked the door and instructed us to be silent. As I observed my peers, I noticed an array of behaviors in response to practicing the most terrifying scenario we could have imagined. Some stricken with anxiety, others silently crying with their heads in their laps, and others with smiles on their faces, chuckling ever so quietly as we conducted the active shooter drill.