Personal Narrative: The Walkout

A Memorable Experience: The Walkout “December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through absolute victory.” This famous quote by President Franklin D. Roosevelt when Pearl Harbor was attacked reminds me how I felt when I heard about the Parkland high school shooting. I will never forget that sad day. On Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at Crayton Middle School, a school-wide walkout took place. This walkout occurred all over the country at 10:00am – 10:17am for the 17 people who were shot in Parkland, Florida. This was a time for people who were grieving to take a stand. There were negative and positive reasons

I didn’t know whether to walk out or to stay in my classroom. There were many outside influences that wanted kids to stay in or walk out of class. Many of my friends went out. There were also some friends who stayed in class. All of this brought on a big conversation between me and my parents. They began to research all about this issue and the group pushing for the walkout. As they researched this, I realized that their opinion may affect how I feel about all of this. I was really starting to think hard about my decision. I wanted to honor the people who died, but I didn’t want to protest against gun control. After talking with my parents and thinking more about the issue, I decided not to do the walkout because the group that was behind it was a group my family didn’t support. This was hard for me because I didn’t want people to think that I didn’t support the 17 victims in the shooting. On the contrary, I felt very bad for the families and friends of the victims. I also was concerned for my safety. This walkout was plastered all over the news and was a perfect opportunity for someone to come into the school and shoot a child or adult. For these reasons, I didn’t participate in the school-wide walk