'I fear a country in which I'm scared to send my own children to school'

The following is the speech presented by Deerfield High School junior Rebecca Harfield at the May 26 community vigil on the front steps of the Bernard Forrest Deerfield Village Hall.

Hi, my name's Rebecca Harfield. I'm just finishing my junior year at Deerfield High School and will be a senior in the fall.

I am 17 years old, 17. I'm 17 years old and I fear that one morning I will jump out of bed, drink my daily hot cup of coffee, drive my brother and his two friends to school, walk into my first-period U.S. History class, and not come home. Seventeen.

Last night I was fortunate enough to attend my cousin's high school graduation. "Next year that will be you," my parents reminded me.

As I sat in the uncomfortable, creaky Ravinia chairs I thought of the 19 children who had died a day prior. Nineteen families would not get to see their children walk across that stage, or any stage, ever again. Nineteen children would not get to experience the laughter that fills a high school's cafeteria, the chaos that surrounds a high school dance.

Nineteen children would never get to cheer their teammates on from the sidelines, would never get to experience the rush to the parking lot after a day in school. Nineteen children would not get to pass their junior-year Constitution test, 19 children who wouldn't get to participate in their high school musical or play.

But, it is not just these 19 children who would miss out on these school events and activities. I think about all the children who have fallen victim to mass shootings in 2022, the year before that, the year before that, and five years before that. There were just nine days in between the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings. Each time another school shooting happens I think, Maybe this time will be different; maybe this time something will change, someone will do something. Some other school in some other state will be saved.

Nine days.

I don't just fear for me, I fear for my parents, my friends, their parents. I fear for my teammates, the people I work with on the weekends, the children I mentor and spend time with at my temple. I fear for future generations, for my children and my grandchildren.

I fear a country in which I'm scared to send my own children to school.

I'm just 17 years old. Seventeen, and I'm every day forced to carry this heavy weight in the back of my mind. That shouldn't be our reality.

I urge all of you to use your voice, to take a stand against gun violence. The best way to honor the memory of those lost is to write letters to politicians asking them to support common-sense gun-control measures. Talk about what's going on in your classes and with your parents, organize within your community as much as you can.

And please, if you're eligible, vote. Vote for politicians who make more than empty promises, who will do everything within their power to make sure that our children are able to live past the fourth grade.

Vote for the children who aren't old enough to vote, whose lives depend on you casting your ballot.

There's no better time than now to use your voice. The lives of countless people depend on it.