TUESDAY, MAY 4, 1999

Fearful of tomorrow, unknown

I am too young to be thinking about this right now, but I am forced to. I cannot believe what is going on in the world today.

When high school students can shoot at numerous classmates and teachers, I cannot help but think about the future. If things are this bad now, what will it be like in the next millennium?

It scares me to think that only five years ago I was a junior in high school and someone could have just walked into the library and shot me point blank.

I would not have had the chance to grow up and become who I am today. It breaks my heart to know that those young peoples' lives were cut short.

I feel for their parents who had dreams for their child's future like what they would do for a living, who they would marry, the children they would have.

All of those dreams are gone in the blink on an eye.

I want to have children someday, maybe two or three. I am terrified to think of what could happen to them when I drop them off at school in the morning.

I am afraid that one day when I go to pick them up, there will be ambulances, fire engines and news helicopters. I am afraid of the sinking feeling in my stomach wondering if it is my child on the stretcher or if my child is being threatened inside the building.

I hope that I will never have to experience this and I have deep sympathy for the parents that had to.

What is going on? I want to look forward to the future and all of the possibilities that it holds for me.

Now I have to think about the possibility of being gunned down. It is not fair, but unfortunately, it is a reality.

Kimberley Gray is a public relations journalist major.