Draft #1

I woke up early in the morning to get ready for a regular day in 3rd grade at Cottonwood Creek Elementary School in Colorado. It seemed like a normal April day in Colorado in 1999, the weather was crisp, cool, and dark in the morning. I get to school and my teacher was especially in a good mood that morning as she had bought us some breakfast and drinks. My first class was the same as every other day that year; we did some reading and practiced our cursive writing. The classroom was bright with the sun just coming up shining through our windows with the snowy tops of the Rocky Mountains in the background. Everyone was in a good and cheerful mood; the day could not have started any better, but things changed dramatically in the middle of my second class of the day.

We were in the middle of doing some math problems and practicing our division when the principal of my elementary school came on the loud speaker and said, “Good morning everyone, I have some sad news today. There has been a shooting at Columbine High School, so we will be on lock down for the rest of the day.” After hearing the news everyone in the room, including the teacher, gasped in shock and fear. The room suddenly became quiet as we all were worried and struck with fear. When a school goes on lock down, it means that no one can come in or out of our school. Columbine High School was only a few miles from my elementary school, so every school in the county was on lock down for the rest of the day. We all knew instantly that this was bad and we all became worried. After the announcement by the principal all the teachers in my grade started talking and whispering between each other about what was happening and what to do. They then went around to all the classrooms to close all the windows and shades and make sure all the outside doors were locked. It became a very dark and quiet place all of a sudden, no one liked this. The sun was no longer shining through our windows as we could no longer see the sun because of the dark clouds and the closed shades. What was a great and beautiful day, turned out to be a terrible and horrifying day for all of us. The teachers could see the fear in our faces and eyes and they kept reassuring us by saying, “don’t worry kids, everything is going to be fine. You are all safe here.” We believed what they said but we were still worried. Some time later some police cars pulled up and surrounded our school and the street. They wanted to protect us since the shootings were so close to our school. No one knew who the shooters were, how many there were, how many they killed and injured, and if it was going to happen at other schools too. Our parents started to get worried too because they heard about the shooting and they started calling the school to make sure we were all safe. The news of the shooting traveled fast around the nation. Even my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins from California called my house to see if my sister and I were safe and not part of the shootings. Our school was on lock down for the rest of the day, there was such strict security that our parents were not allowed to come and pick us up until later in the day. We did not do anything the rest of the day except watch the news and the coverage of the shootings at Columbine High School.

Once the shootings were over we were all relieved but still worried about how many people died and how many were injured. We were able to go home a few hours after the shootings were over. My mom and dad were so happy to see my sister and me and they were so relieved that we were safe. Later that day we found out on the news that the shooters were two students who attended Columbine High School. Apparently they were very unhappy with their lives so they decided to commit this horrible act on this day. They supposedly had planned this for some time, but it was a complete surprise to everyone else. They just decided that this was the right day to do it. The shooters had killed many students and staff from Columbine High School and injured many too. Once they were surrounded by police the two shooters committed suicide and shot themselves in the head.

It was a very sad and scary day for everyone around the country, especially for the people that lived and went to school around that area. This horrible event has changed the way schools enforce security around the country. This also made everyone realize that anything can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, even in a place where they think they are safe. This tragedy has affected us many years later too. A few years ago, when I was in 10th grade attending Cherry Creek High School in Colorado, there was a threat against our school on the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings. Everyone was scared that day because they were worried the shootings would actually happen. Parents were so scared too that some did not even send their kids to school that day. The threat was not real but it reminded us all of the tragedy that happened in April of 1999. This kind of tragedy had never happened anywhere else before that day and we will all remember this horrible day forever.