The silhouette of two people siting in lawn chairs, watching the sunset.

On March 16th, 2021, there was a series of shootings in the U.S city of Atlanta, Georgia. On March 22nd, 2021 there was a shooting in the U.S. city of Boulder, Colorado. Again, scenes of violence are cycling in the news. Seemingly familiar places are turning into crime scenes. It’s not hard to see our local grocery store becoming the same as the grocery store in the news. These acts of violence are a challenge to process.

To help you better understand your own fears, imagine you are explaining these events to someone younger than you or even your younger self. Write out this back and forth dialogue and share it with us. What are they afraid of? What are you afraid of? How can you calm the younger person down? What can you do to create change surrounding gun violence?

This prompt was written by Marcus Weber , a Words Alive volunteer.