LoganS999

We had a school resource officer in the building, and we also ran lockdown drills once a semester. We mostly followed standard safety preparations. Drills have changed quite a bit. Before the shooting, a fire drill would be started by the fire alarm going off. Now, our principle tells us through the speakers that a drill will start so we should be prepared for the sudden noise. For our first lockdown drill after the shooting, everyone knew it would occur weeks before it happened. Once the drill was done, school resource officers would go around each room to let us know we were all safe and we could continue the day. They also brought therapy dogs into the high school commons for the rest of the day, which was great.

This is a really good question. Be aware of the people around you. It's not a foolproof strategy, but if you can detect that someone is a bit unstable, you could possibly save lives. Everyone at school is hyper-aware of their fellow peers now because reality hit us and we know another tragedy could happen in our lives again. You never think something like this is going to happen to you until you see it in person. You almost have a safety bubble around you that convinces you that you are immune to it. I'm not saying that you should be afraid, or that everyone around you could snap at any moment. These events are still very unlikely and you will probably be fine. I'm just saying you should know when someone needs help, and get them that help.

My teacher seemed a bit unsure about if it was a drill or not when the lockdown was called. I thought the teachers were usually informed about lockdown drills even when the students were not. (I might be wrong, so don't quote me on it) My teacher seemed to learn that it wasn't a drill with the rest of us when we looked at the news. He started to have a slight panic attack because he had a son who was in the elementary building. (Elementary, middle, and high school all have separate buildings that are connected by breezeways.) All the adults handled the situation better than I could have asked for. They were all as calm as they could possibly be while trying to make sure we knew what we needed to do. I was so impressed by the first responders and the rest of the people who made sure we were safe and accounted for. Overall, everyone did a great job of keeping us as calm and safe as possible, despite the harsh conditions.

It's been hitting me in phases. I have trouble in Concerts, cities, or any place that is a common target for attacks. I'm noticing I'm relatively quick to assume that someone might want to harm me. Bathroom stalls are hard to be in because I can't see anybody who walks in, which just makes me nervous. For some reason, I actually feel safest at school now. Not sure why that is, but its just something I've noticed.

Thank you for your additions. I just looked it up and you can pop sound scare made the news. I remember my school made a poster and sent it your way. I also remember watching the news as it unfolded. I was in music class when you guys went on lockdown, and I checked my phone every few minutes. I also remember checking the news to find out a second student had died in the hospital, which hit me especially hard despite it being halfway across the country. Your insights are absolutely correct. I can't tell you how many times I've been scared by a door closing or someone knocking on a door. Regarding the aftermath of shootings, I would say it is worse than the shooting itself. Letting the dust settle, and seeing everyone grieve. It's not the experience that hits you, its the slap in the face from reality.

To you, Bubblez, Make sure you find people you can talk to. The reason I opened this post was because it helps me to talk about it. Everyone deals with it in different ways, but that's just my way. Find something that works, and hold onto it. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery. If your anything like me, your mind and triggers will shift constantly. For a while, it made me nervous interacting with one person. Then I couldn't interact in groups, and now it's a small combination of both, though its getting better. Just make sure you have people you can fall back on when you need them, and if you ever want to talk to me about it, feel free.