Seeing tragic events like what happened in Newtown on 12/14, there are countless emotions, reactions, and questions we ask of ourselves and of our nation. These acts of violence are called ‘senseless’ because there will never be enough answers. And yet they continue to occur and we are rocked. Shaken awake.

My heart breaks for every family affected by this tragedy. And as much as I’d like to turn off the 24-hour news and forget that something like this is possible, I share a collective responsibility to respond. Respond to a broken mental health system. Respond to a culture of gun violence. Respond with action and with art.

In memoriam, Jarell’s cover of Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”: