Among the 50 killed and at least 53 wounded in the Orlando shooting was Luis Vielma. According to a story about the victims from NPR, Vielma was a 22-year-old resident of Sanford, Florida. He also happened to work at one of the rides at Harry Potter World at Universal Studios in Orlando.

After hearing of the tragedy, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling shared her sorrow in a series of tweets, taking time to recognize Vielma in particular. 

In addition to sharing a photo of Vielma in his Gryffindor uniform, Rowling shared the tweets of many other individuals remembering happy moments with Vielma. Some are personal anecdotes from friends; others are tales of brief interactions with Vielma at the theme park. All are affirming of the enormity of this loss.

One tweet reads, “He was the guy in the breakroom you liked four seconds after walking in.” Another states, “I can’t believe such a kind soul is gone.” Through this senseless act of violence, Luis Vielma’s memory may live on in the stories and experiences others have to share of him.

Though this entire event is devastating, Rowling’s kind words and acknowledgement of the event will hopefully bring the issue of gun violence the exposure it needs until we are able to find a solution. The first step to solving this problem is bringing it to the fore and talking about it. We must find a way to avoid sensationalizing and dehumanizing (both the victims and the perpetrator) and come up with a way to ensure that mass shootings become less a part of our daily lives.

I woke up this morning to the possibility of my best friends being dead.

On the night of June 11, several of my sorority sisters had planned an evening in downtown Orlando to celebrate the graduation of one of our seniors. She is a vivacious free spirit who, as the glue to our social circle, hosts weekly dinner parties at her condo. This particular friend is one of the eldest in our makeshift 'family away from family.' She is a recent recipient of her bachelor’s degree in law enforcement, and us younger girls of the sorority look to her as someone inspiring, fiercely independent and full of potential. But when you live blissfully unaware of the evil in society, you forget to add full of life to your friends’ list of admirable qualities.

Though invited to their bar-hopping escapade, I decided to stay in that night. I had caught a cold a few days prior, and wanted to spend time with the guy I’ve been dating before he left on a two week FLETC training for his job with the TSA. While the group chat with my sisters exploded with funny pictures and inside jokes as they got ready for a night of dancing, I snuggled up on my couch to watch Minions. That feeling of normalcy now churns my stomach, and makes me feel more guilty than safe.

When I awoke to my sorority’s crisis app, I knew something that night had gone horribly wrong. To further explain, I am a student at the University of Central Florida. Several months ago I was headed to the library to finish an online final and my phone buzzed with an ominous text from our app that gives us updates on chapter, philanthropy events and socials. It was a short message from our president asking us to silently evacuate as there were reports of an active shooter. While these claims proved to be a false accusation against a Muslim woman praying, it could have potentially saved our lives should there had been a real shooting. I knew my sisters only received those kinds of messages during actual emergencies, which was why I immediately rolled over in bed to read the post in its entirety.

It didn’t take long to receive the news of the shooting at Pulse nightclub. My friends and I are no strangers to the establishment. I had gone there for a fraternity social, and my sisters enjoyed it for the friendly atmosphere. I turned on the TV to listen to eye-witness reports of the crime; people huddled in bathroom stalls and crouching behind the bar in fear for their lives. I began to remember the night I had visited the nightclub myself. I had once used those bathrooms. I had once hung out by that bar.

I then checked the group chat, and all of my sisters were assuring the girls who didn’t partake in the festivities the night prior that they were safe. My sisters had not visited Pulse that night, and were home in bed before the shooter even approached the scene. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was experiencing after picturing my best friends caught in crossfire. It was the same sinking aura I felt when there was a supposed shooter in my university’s library. And it was the same feeling I had when Christina Grimmie was murdered at The Plaza Live.

Yes, only days prior to the Pulse massacre, the concert venue my friends and I frequented was infiltrated by an armed man with little motive and plenty of vengeance. I had never listened to Grimmie’s music, but recognized the name of the venue immediately. It was across the street from a coffeehouse I attended every Friday evening for free comedy night. It was in an area rich in music, art and cuisine. The Plaza Live was a place I had always felt safe, and in a district I proudly called home.

I began to run over each tragedy in my mind, and started to grasp what was happening in my own backyard. There were killings at the places I felt most at peace. There was the largest shooting massacre in US history—almost higher than the Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech murders combined—in the city I’ve grown up in most of my life. But out of those realizations, I began to learn things about my own community that I felt compelled to share.

1. I learned how real social issues are.

It is so easy to distance yourself from injustice when you live in a first world country, especially in the suburban lifestyle I have grown up in. I have two loving, married parents, and a supportive family who has helped me both financially and emotionally through college. While I’ve experienced forms of sexism in the actions of cat-calling and unsolicited physical harassment, I am a straight Caucasian woman who has never and will never experience discrimination based on my race or sexual orientation.

Before these shootings, issues in the world seemed so far away. Mass shootings were supposed to happen in far-off places. Even domestic terrorism didn’t seem palpable. While I felt grief for the victims and thirst for justice in prior terrorist attacks and high-profile murders, the profound indignation I should have felt just wasn’t there. And for that, I apologize to every victim I’ve ever seen on the news and didn’t take action for.

In Christina Grimmie’s case, violence against women and signs of abuse and stalking are frequently ignored. While police have still not found motive for Grimmie’s murder, it brings to light the silent horrors so often not reported by victims of stalking and harassment. According to John Carroll University, one in six women in the United States have experienced stalking in their lifetime. Of female victims of stalking, 66.2 percent were stalked by a current or former intimate partner, and three in 10 victims reported being injured emotionally or psychologically from being stalked.

As for the Pulse massacre, those who oppose the LGBTQ+ community are rarely silent in their bigotry. “There is a public perception that there is a sea change for LGBTQ people, and that is true for public opinion of LGBTQ people,” Chai Jindasurat, who coordinates programs with the  National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, told BuzzFeed News. “But it is still dangerous to be LGBTQ in the United States.”

Whenever a Millennial such as myself discusses issues such as rape culture, hate crimes, gun control, or mental illness, we are bombarded with excuses. We are told that crime has always existed and we are just getting old enough to understand it. We are told that despite the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence stating that every nine seconds in the U.S. a woman is assaulted or beaten, that 72 percent of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner, and that 94 percent of the victims of these murder-suicides are female, these are issues that do not concern us. That when over 50 innocent lives are taken because they harmlessly attended an inclusive nightclub, there is always an excuse to stay silent. That was when I learned something else from the two recent shootings in my beloved city.

2. I learned it's time for a conversation.

The year is 2016 and families are still not teaching their children about consent. The year is 2016 and the largest U.S. mass shooting was targeted at an LGBTQ+ nightclub. The year is 2016 and a rapist is serving a maximum of six months in jail after sexually assaulting an unconscious woman because the judge, an alumnus of his university, saw potential in him as an athlete. The year is 2016 and it is time for a conversation; time to get the United States on the same page.

The only way to change a culture where rape and hate crimes are so prevalent is to educate our population. It may be uncomfortable because parents do not want to view their child as a potential rapist or bigot or murderer. A report by Equality Michigan offers suggestions to stop LGBTQ+ hate crimes, such as addressing the root causes of anti-LGBTQ and HIV-affected violence through working to end poverty, homophobia, and stigma. And in my opinion, these tactics can be applied to other social issues to alleviate them once and for all.

When the largest hate crime in my country’s history happened mere minutes from my house, I was shocked to see the massive differentiation in opinions on the subject. Many of my friends were mourning the loss of loved ones who had attended Pulse that night, but some were more controversial on social media. They were defending the actions of the murderer, much like they had defended Christina Grimmie’s stalker and the actions of rapist Brock Turner the night he assaulted his victim. These were not anonymous blog posts, but the comments of my own friends and family. The racism, sexism and bigotry had reached my front porch, and I felt defenseless watching the online arguments ensue.

This is completely unacceptable.

As someone who has seen my community suffer firsthand by these recent shootings, I now know my country is in dire need of education on what has been for so long considered issues that do not concern us. Martin Niemölle, a prominent Protestant pastor during the Holocaust, once stated, “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.” If we do not start demanding our fellow citizens respect one another, educating our children on sexual violence, and holding violent criminals responsible for their actions, we are no better than useless bystanders.

But as I learned after the Pulse shooting, there is hope.

3. I learned that people are ready for this conversation.

Once I had dried my tears and made sure my sisters were safe, a friend of mine who lives in France sent me a panicked text message. He was worried I was hurt in the shooting. As I responded to him, I remembered sending him a similar message during the November 2015 Paris attacks in Saint-Dennis. And I remember him speaking of how his country came together shortly after the murders.

Through the ugly, shameful comments by trolls on my newsfeed, I saw more than 200 of my sorority sisters post blood donation locations. Friends and acquaintances alike were sharing the hashtag #PrayForOrlando and offering their company for those unable to share their emotions with anyone else. Profile pictures of their sunny summer breaks changed to images of my beautiful city; my beautiful Orlando.

Americans are ready for the conversation. We are ready to teach our children why touching an unconscious person behind a dumpster is not a stupid mistake, it is a violent crime. We are ready to stand up for minorities so that they are not exterminated en masse. We are ready to stop our pattern of telling women to report abuse to the police, then turning around to tell them they did it for attention.

I am an Orlando native and I have learned from the outpour of support that your prayers, if properly handled with education and love, may one day be answered.

Want to write pieces like this? Sign up for the Her Campus Story Prompts listserv to receive regular opportunities to write opinion pieces for HC.

Freshmen, it's time for you to embark on the greatest journey of your lives, and the first step to making it the best is to make your space feel like home. Some decor for your dorm might take a bit longer to craft than others, so we're here to ensure you have these cute DIYs done before you head off to school!

1. Floral Chandelier

Dorms are often a dull place, but we know exactly how to make yours pop. This floral chandelier is the perfect way to dress up any space.

2. Storage Ottoman

Storage is a necessity in tiny dorm rooms. Head to any craft store and grab wooden crates to decorate; then make them into an ottoman for storage and seating!

3. Dorm Vanity

Dorms don't often supply the largest amount of space for you to make your own, so this functional vanity made out of plastic storage drawers is an amazing addition to any space. 

4. Hollywood Vanity Lights

Your space can look like a Hollywood dressing room in a few days time with these swanky vanity lights.

5. Upholstered Headboard

An upholstered headboard can jazz up any space, but this isn't an activity you should put off for too long. It might take some extra time, but the headboard will make your space as cozy and cute as possible!

6. Mug Holder

If you don't already think so, mugs will become your greatest friend. You're bound to have a ton, so why not save up some drawer and counter space by storing your mugs on the wall?

7. Light-Up Floral Backdrop

Need to spruce up your walls? This light-up frame will add some unique pizzazz to your space, whether it be with flowers, feathers or glitter!

8. Gold Storage Bin

Just because you buy cheap plastic drawers doesn't mean they have to stay that bland shade of white. Spray paint will come in handy when turning any dull drawer into an instant statement piece.

You can jazz up any space with a little TLC. To make your dorm really feel like home once you arrive on campus, you should get a start on these crafts sooner rather than later. 

With the long-awaited arrival of summer (and summer vacation!), June is one month that everyone’s sure to get excited for. This is especially true for the LGBTQ+ community, with pride festivals popping up in big cities all around the world. There are rainbow flags fluttering in the breeze and music pumping through the streets—and we can’t help but get excited.

Few people know how pride really got started, or even why June is the time of year when pride festivals happen. When people celebrate pride, it’s not just a celebration of identity. Pride marks the anniversary of history’s first queer rights demonstration at the Stonewall Inn. Here’s the breakdown on some Stonewall History 101, the events, the facts, and why they’re important to the LGBTQ+ community today.

How it All Started

Let’s throw it back to the late 1960s. At this time, expressing any “homosexual tendencies” in public was outlawed. People were forced to stay in the closet for the majority (if not the entirety) of their lifetime due to the dangerous stigma that was attached to coming out. Many private gay bars, clubs, and other establishments were frequently raided and shut down. That is, until one fateful summer night when the one crowd of queer partygoers had had enough.

On June 28, 1969, the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Gay men, lesbians, and drag queens alike were violently dragged by the police out of a place that was supposed to be a safe haven. The officers rallied them up like criminals into the back of police cars. But all of a sudden, bottles flew through the air, aimed at the policemen who were arresting owners and patrons of the bar. Two officers were injured before reinforcements were called to contain the angry mob of people who arose to defend what was rightly theirs: A safe space to be who they were.

The Start of Something Bigger

This one fateful night was the beginning of many others to come. The police returned to Stonewall the following night to find that the crowd had become even larger than before. For days following, there were many protests and discussions that came about concerning the civil rights of the country’s queer community. From these discussions came not only the word “gay” to define the queer community, but also the formation of the first advocacy groups, publications, and general support for within the community. Some of these include the Gay Liberation Front and a citywide newspaper called Gay.

On the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, big cities across the country such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago, celebrated their first annual pride parades. Within the first two years of the riots, gay rights groups had been formed in almost every big city across the country.

Why it Matters

Pride weekend is so much bigger than just a festival, a parade, or a bunch of parties. It is a celebration of triumph over years of discrimination, hardship and straight-out bullying. Why a parade? It’s a whole other level of empowerment when there’s an actual parade to celebrate. It’s when people from all different walks of life can come and celebrate love in all its beautiful and unique forms.

Even in revolutionary historical events such as these, we also must be able to critique how they were carried out. While the Stonewall movement was started by drag queens and other genderqueer people, the protests and demonstrations lead afterwards were mostly policed by gay white men. Voices like that of trans woman activist Sylvia Rivera were silenced and booed whenever they tried to speak up. While the world today is getting to a more trans-inclusive space with figures like Caitlyn Jenner, Janet Mock, and Laverne Cox, we can all agree that there is always more work to do.

So if you find yourself in the bustle of New York City this summer for pride, be sure to make a pit stop by the Stonewall Inn to see where it all began. For those of you who will be celebrating pride in your own cities, make sure to remember the great significance of all of those who fought for your right to rock the rainbow proudly.

Omar Mateen, the shooter who committed the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history early Sunday morning in Orlando, reportedly looked into Disney World as a potential target before settling on Pulse nightclub, People reports.

Mateen and his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, visited Disney World in April—but they weren't there for the spinning teacups or Cinderella's Castle. Mateen had apparently been “scouting Downtown Disney and Pulse [nightclub] for attacks,” Salman told federal investigators. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is the most visited theme park in the world, averaging almost 53,000 guests per day in 2014.

Disney World decided to add metal detectors to the park's entrances in December, following the San Bernardino attack. The theme park also prohibited the sale of toy guns. Although Disney World’s four major theme parks have stricter security measures, Downtown Disney (recently renamed Disney Springs) does not.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Disney Springs has multiple entry points and no security checks. In addition, many people without bags reported being able to walk into the park without going through the metal detector. Knowing that Mateen scouted out the park as a target only makes these facts more disturbing.

If you decide to visit Disney World sometime this month, you can probably expect longer lines but less people. AL reported that the already long lines at the theme park have grown astronomically since Sunday as the park attempts to step up its security protocols. Almost all visitors are now required to walk through the metal detectors, while every bag will be thoroughly checked and vetted. The theme park hopes that these rigorous procedures will reassure people of their safety in the wake of the Pulse shooting.

Even with tightened security, experts expect lower-than-normal crowds at all of Orlando theme parks in the next few weeks. “People will start thinking twice before booking, you know, attractions or hotels or anything else,” said University of Central Florida dean of hospitality management Abraham Pizam to the Orlando Sentinel. “I do expect to [see] some impact, downturn, in the number of tourists.”

In the days following the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, we can only hope that the public begins to feel more secure doing everyday things again soon—especially as the scary details surrounding the shooter’s motives unravel.

In the wake of the tragic shooting of Voice contestant Christina Grimmie, Adam Levine has decided to do what he can to help the bereaved family. 

According to a Facebook post from Christina's brother Marcus, the singer's Voice coach called Grimmie's mother to offer to pay for her funeral. 

"I found out this morning, that Adam Levine personally called my mother and said he will pay for the funeral and her plane flight, and I was blown away," Marcus wrote. "Now a friend just told me to look at the gofundme page and I see it is at 100k. Words cannot express...literally I have no words."

In a Facebook post soon after her death, Levine called Grimmie "a natural, a gifted talent that comes along so rarely," and said that "she was taken from us too soon. This is yet another senseless act of extreme violence. I am left stunned and confused how these things can conceivably continue to happen in our world."

We hope that this gift will be of help to the Grimmie family as they grieve. "I am so blown away by everything right now. But all I can say is thank you," said Marcus. "Christina will be missed and never ever forgotten."

Although long locks have been all the hype, Kendall Jenner's latest haircut, a shoulder-length 'do, will have you aching for a chop of your own.

Although some thought it could be a wig at first, it appears as though that's not the case. Kendall and her brother-in-law Kanye West attended Tyler, the Creator's fashion show for Made LA on Saturday, and she rocked her short hair.

What do you think, collegiettes? Will you be heading for the salon to get "The Kendall"?

As we all know, Adele is currently on her international tour promoting the release of her latest album, and while her work has been more than well received by her colleagues and fans alike, she still deals with claims that her voice is not authentic. Of course, we beg to differ, but unfortunately, that doesn’t mean these insults don’t gain traction in the media.

In an interview with The Daily Star, music producer Tony Visconti, who worked alongside the late David Bowie for much of his career, threw shade at Adele and her level of talent when asked a question about the current climate of pop music.

"You turn the radio on and it’s fluff, you are listening to 90 percent computerized voices,” Visconti said. “We know Adele has a great voice, but it’s even questionable if that is actually her voice or how much has been manipulated. We don’t know."

While in concert, Adele mercilessly called out Visconti for his critical remarks. In a 30-second video posted to YouTube, Adele is heard saying, “Some d---head tried to say that my voice was not me on record. Dude, suck my d---."

Since then, Visconti has come forward to apologize for his remarks. “I’m sorry that what I said in regards to what’s being played on radio was misconstrued yet I cannot apologize for something taken the wrong way,” he told Billboard. “If Adele has taken my comments as offensive that was certainly not my intent. Adele has a great voice and it brings pleasure to millions.”

Although Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik’s relationship has reportedly been on-again, off-again for a while now, don’t assume they aren’t willing to always support one another. After Zayn cancelled a concert appearance in the U.K. due to anxiety, Gigi was quick to offer her support.

On Saturday, Zayn screenshotted and posted to Twitter an apology, which detailed his decision to cancel his show last minute. The note was very honest and was warmly received by his fans. Not only did fans show their unwavering support, but Hadid did as well with a lovely response to Zayn's initial message.

Though we don't know this duo's relationship status at the time, it is certainly nice to see them supporting each another through their ups and downs. 

At first, it didn’t register. I didn’t understand. Information came at me in flashes; every heartbeat there was something else for me to read. Ba-bump. A shooting in Florida. Ba-bump. A massacre in a gay nightclub in Orlando. Ba-bump. 20 dead. Ba-bump. No. Ba-bump. 50 dead. Ba-bump. Largest gun massacre in US History. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

My mother and I are having lunch in a deli. She points to the TV behind me and says, “It’s just so terrible, what’s happening in Florida.”  

I know what I am about to see before I turn around. It’s what I saw all over my newsfeed this morning and what’s been blaring from our house’s television all day: 50 dead, 53 injured in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

I know she is sincere; she looks at the body count and feels a mother’s pain for all those children who were lost to this tragedy, this hate crime, this terrorist attack. She doesn’t know about me.

“Yeah,” I say, “It’s so sad.” This is all I can say. Any other word out of my mouth would result an emotional breakdown in the middle of this deli. I wouldn’t be able to explain to her why I am falling to my knees as I am forced to watch my community pick itself up after this most recent massacre. I want to fold myself into my mother like a child, but I know I can’t, not without her asking why, not without having to answer a million questions.

It is a terrifying and heartbreaking thing, to watch your LGBTQ+ siblings suffer for no other reason than that they are gay and existing at the same time. And here you are sitting miles away, unable to do anything about it, at a complete loss.

To be a closeted LGBTQ+ person during a tragedy like this is to always be silent. People kill us and you can’t say anything. You watch yourself die on television, read it in books and you have to pretend it doesn’t upset you that your life is meaningless both in fiction as well as in real life.

Suddenly, nowhere is safe. Not a church, not a nightclub, not our own bodies. We have become public property to be torn down, killed off, done away with, and it is terrifying. Our sanctuaries have been turned into slaughterhouses. June, this month of celebration and pride, turned into a funeral march.

To be in the closet when 50 of your LGBTQ+ siblings are brutally murdered means you cannot outwardly mourn, you cannot grieve, you cannot let anyone know how deeply and severely this affects you.

I tell my parents, “A mass shooting in a gay club during Pride month? This is a hate crime.”

My dad shakes his head, tells me, “This was more than a hate crime.”

But, why isn’t a hate crime enough? Why aren’t 50 of my people, dead, enough for this horrendous act of hatred and evil to be considered a hate crime? Why isn’t that serious enough? I want to scream at him for saying this. I want to rip my hair out. I want to cry. I want to clutch my chest and weep for these people I have never met. But still I cannot say anything. I internalize my grief and my sorrow, my rage and my pain. I swallow it and further back into the closet I go.

Anyone of those people could have been me. They could have been anyone of us. They could be one of us in the future. This won’t be the last time our community is attacked, but I cannot be outwardly scared or express my fear of being visibly queer in public. All I can do is continue to hide as the bodies pile up.

The Orlando Pulse shooting proved that to be out and LGBTQ+ is an act of bravery, to hold hands with your partner, to kiss in public, to exist and be queer is a sublime act of courage, and to be deviant is punishable by death. We have learned that there are consequences for our existence. We have every right to be terrified. Our anger is real and valid. Our sadness is palpable.

To those of us who cannot mourn openly, I see you and I am sorry. I am sorry that this may have shoved you further back into the closet than you already were. I’m sorry the world is so dangerous for us. I wish I could make it better.

Know this: whether you are out or not, your very existence is an act of defiance. The fact that you woke up this morning is just one small part of a larger rebellion against a world that would otherwise see you dead. Maybe you can’t say anything, but you are not silent. I hear you. I hear you.

But the dead remain dead, so we lift our hands to them, these people we knew and didn’t know, these kin of ours. Even though the world is a little darker and our hearts heavier, but they are still beating. We heft them onto our shoulders and still we march, always towards revolution, always towards a future where we no longer have to fight, where nothing is a closet, where pride is not deviant, where we lift our hands to the sky and dance once again, ba-bump, unafraid. 

No one goes through life wanting to be a workaholic. However, depending on your schedule and the career you choose to pursue, the nonstop devotion to your work can be hard to avoid. Though we all know it’s unhealthy, separating our work lives from our personal lives is easier said than done. No matter how hard we try to fight it, we’re reminded of our slight insanity when we hear these 19 things.  

1. What are you doing?

Too many things.

2. Why are you always so busy?

I didn't choose this life-it chose me.

3. Why are you always on your laptop?

Because that's where Gmail is.

4. Get off the phone.

But my people need me!

5. You need to be more fun.

I know, I'm lame. You don't have to tell me.

6. Just say “no.”

It's not that easy!

7. Are you done yet?

Am I ever actually done?

8. It can wait.

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."-Benjamin Franklin

9. Just do it later.

Later is too late.

10. Skip it.

Sure thing, there won't be any consequences if I just don't show up.

11. Don’t you get off at 6?

Clocking out isn't really a thing for me.

12. Take the day off.

So I can spend the whole day wondering about all the work I'm missing?

13. Loosen up a little.

Buy me a massage and maybe I will.

14. Why are you such a perfectionist?

I was born this way. 

15. Work is all you care about.

Not true... don't get me started.

16. You need to relax.

Yeah, I'm not very good at that. 

17. Are you listening to me?

Kinda.

18. Slow down.

The faster I'm done, the sooner I can relax!

19. There’s more to life than work.

Okay, okay. You're right. Get me a drink.

If you’re dating someone who struggles with anxiety or depression, the situation is probably confusing and difficult for both of you. Although you should always encourage them to see a therapist, there are also plenty of things that you can do for your SO to feel safe and loved.

1. Don’t be their therapist

You can be there for your partner in every way possible, but you can’t give them the professional help they need. “The most important thing that you can do for an anxious or depressed partner is to persuade them to see the importance of getting into psychotherapy,” says Dr. Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist and author. “Otherwise, the situation could soon get out of control. You cannot be their therapist if you are their romantic partner.”

What you can do for a depressed or anxious partner is to reassure them against the stigma of going into therapy. Talking to a professional is crucial for their mental health, and will also help your relationship.

Related: 5 Things You Should Never Say to Your Friend With Anxiety

2. Support them in every situation

If you are not depressed or anxious yourself, it can be difficult to understand what’s going on with your partner, but this doesn’t mean that you should just give up on helping them. “The main advice I would give to someone whose SO struggles with mental health issues is to support them no matter what,” says Helmi Henkin, a junior at the University of Alabama. “They may seem distant at times, and they may often be feeling down for no reason, which are both frustrating circumstances to observe.”

On the other hand, it’s really important that you don’t confuse supporting your SO and encouraging any unhealthy—or even destructive—behaviors they might engage in. “You can support them in the sense of letting them know that you are not judging them and want to make sure they get help, but you can’t support them no matter what,” Dr. Lieberman says.

If your partner is very depressive, they might make extreme or rash decisions, so you should be aware that this is a possibility and be ready to respond in this kind of situation. “For example, if a depressed partner wants to drown their sorrows in alcohol every night or talks about being suicidal, but refuses to get help, you can’t just support them in these bad decisions,” Dr. Lieberman explains. “You may need to alert someone who can get your partner help—such as: his parents, the dorm RA, the mental health service at your school or 911.” You should never try to deal with this alone.

3. Validate their feelings

Some feelings associated with anxiety and depression are not completely rational, and your partner knows this, but it doesn’t make those feelings any less real. “Anxiety is super frustrating for me because I don't even understand it myself,” says Clara*, a junior at the University of California, Los Angeles. “It's really difficult to try to explain something to my partner that I don't even understand. So the best thing for him to do is not to try to understand the anxiety, but to understand how it makes me feel. It's important that he respects how I'm feeling, even if it makes him frustrated or annoyed.”

For Dr. Lieberman, one of the best ways to understand your SO is to try to relate to what is upsetting them. “You can validate your partner’s feelings, such as if they have had a major disappointment and you can empathize with how sad that would make anyone feel,” she says. “Or if they are under a lot of stress to do well in school and work to support their self, you can empathize with how anxious that would make you feel, too.”

4. Remind them that you care

People who are anxious or depressed can sometimes feel like they are alone in the world. “Remind them how much you care about them and be there for them as much as possible,” Helmi says. “Even if they ask you for validation that you love them multiple times a day, please give it to them, because chances are there are voices in their head telling them that no one likes them and they are better off alone, or worse.”

Another difficult thing about anxiety and depression is that they sometimes push people away when the person needs people the most. “My boyfriend has depression and I'm actually the only girl who has stuck with him through it,” says Lexie*, a junior at Boston University. “Any time he would go through his bouts, girls would be like, ‘You're too depressing, bye.’ And that is disheartening. I understand depression is a disease and someone can't just 'get over it.'”

Dr. Lieberman echoes the collegiettes. “When someone is feeling depressed or anxious, they fear that their partner will leave them because they’re no fun to be around,” she says. “So, reminding them that you care goes a long way.” Sticking with them through all the rough times will mean much more than you think.

5. Just listen

Sometimes, there’s really nothing you can do or say that will make your partner feel better. In this case, the best thing to do is to just lend them an ear and a shoulder to cry on. “What I have learned to do is be supportive of [my boyfriend] and just listen,” Lexie says. “When he has his ‘meltdowns,’ or when his depression ‘hits’ him, I just listen. And his mood will gradually get better and that means the world to me because I just want him to be happy.”

Dr. Lieberman encourages listening, as long as you don’t try to “fix” your partner. “Even though you can’t be as objective as a psychotherapist, and should not try to play that role, you can help just by listening,” she says.

Being in a relationship with someone who deals with anxiety or depression is far from easy, but if you care about them, it’s the last thing that should stop you from being with them. Instead, you can help by being there for them, listening and just caring.

The term "supermodel" has come a long way since its origin. In the '90s, six main supermodels ran the fashion world. Today, the term "model" takes on a totally different meaning with the rise of social media, where stars like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid rule. It turns out, not everybody likes that.

During an interview with Vanity Fair last week, former model Stephanie Seymour says, "They are completely different than we were. Supermodels are sort of the thing of the past." She added that the likes of Kendall and Gigi deserve their own title, and when asked what that should be, she responded, "Bitches of the moment!" Um. Okay.

Seymour went on to describe her modeling days, saying, "I gave up my childhood and worked very, very hard from the time I was 14." All that being said, Seymour does admit she's glad she wasn't working during the social media age. "I’m so glad social media didn’t exist during our time. And because there weren’t cameras around us all the time, we got away with so much more and had so much more fun," she says. "We didn’t have people watching us all the time, and we weren’t putting ourselves out there in a way that was turning the media against us or for us in any way. We still had our privacy ... I can’t imagine what it’s like for the girls today."

This isn't the first time former models have criticized Kendall & Gigi's fame. Earlier this year, Rebecca Romijn seemed to reference the two girls directly when she said the "social media stars" aren't "true supermodels." 

"It is frustrating. I know a lot of people—legitimate fashion people—can’t stand it," she was quoted as saying.

For the record though, she did take to Twitter to say she wasn't trying to throw shade.

Of course, there's no denying the entire fashion industry has changed with the rise of social media—but can we just let these girls live?

For collegiettes looking for a more casual fling without wanting to feel like a booty call, a friends-with-benefits setup can feel like the perfect solution. You can hang out during the day like you normally do and hook up occasionally without the stress of a committed relationship.  But what happens when this “casual” hook-up with one of your friends creates jealousy, fighting or unwanted drama?

Because you’re hooking up with a friend and not someone you don’t know as well, you may keep hooking up with him or her long after you realize you’re not happy in the situation, which can potentially lead to the end of your friendship.

Friends with benefits can seem like a great option, but there are times when it just doesn’t work. If any of the following signs sound familiar, it may be time to call it quits with your FWB.

1. There are jealousy issues.

While it’s not exactly fun to see a recent hook-up out with another girl, if you find that hearing about your FWB’s late nights with someone else is affecting your own relationship with him or her or even affecting your self-esteem, it may mean you want something more than the casual label you currently have.

“During my sophomore year, I started hooking up with someone I had been friends with for a while,” says Anna, a senior at the University of Delaware. “We had agreed that we wouldn’t be anything more serious than what we were doing, which was hooking up casually on weekends and hanging out with our friend group during the day, but one night, I saw him hooking up with another girl and started crying. I knew I was more invested in him than I expected to be and that he didn’t want anything more, so we decided to just go back to being friends.”

2. You have different definitions of your relationship.

Do you consider a FWB situation to mean you talk or text more than normal? He may not. Your partner may think that a FWB means you hook up frequently, while you may see it as a once-in-a-while deal. If you’re both on different pages about things such as how you much you talk or hang out, what you’re “allowed” to do with other people or how you act when you’re around your other friends, unwanted problems can arise very quickly.

“When a friend and I started hooking up consistently, I thought that it would be casual because he told me he wasn’t interested in anything more, and I wasn’t either,” says Mary, a junior at the University of Maryland. “I assumed that we would hook up when we saw each other at a party, but he wanted it to be more of something that we did during the week. We were on completely different pages of what FWB meant, but once we talked about it, we were able to agree that in order for us to keep it casual, we had to both see other people.”

While it helps to establish these boundaries before you get too deep into a FWB fling, if you’re still unhappy with the way things are going, have that conversation. The difference between him/her and other casual hook-ups you may have is that he or she is a friend, so it’s probably easier to bring up those topics without feeling awkward and uncomfortable. If you have the conversation and you still feel like FWB means two very different things to you both, consider going back to the “just friends” route.  

3. You only hook up on his or her terms.

Even if hooking up isn’t necessarily hurting your friendship, if one of you holds significantly more power over the mechanics of this FWB situation, it’s not a healthy relationship.

“When it is based on his [or her] terms, it is never going to work,” says dating coach David Wygant.

Kaley, a senior at Hofstra University, experienced this firsthand when she was hooking up with her best friend last year. “It started to get on my nerves when I would text him to come over and he would ignore it or say he couldn’t, but when he texted me to do the same, I was always there,” she says. “It made me feel like I was his last choice, and I finally decided that anyone, especially a friend, shouldn’t be making me feel that way. I got really frustrated, and eventually we just went back to being friends.”

4. It’s ruining your friendship.

If you were friends before you started hooking up and suddenly you only hear from him or her after 1 a.m, you’re being treated more like a booty call than a FWB.

“I knew I didn’t want a boyfriend, and I loved the idea that [my best friend and I] could still hang out during the day and hook up at night when we wanted to with no strings attached,” says Maria, a senior at the University of Maryland. “The problem came after about a month of us being friends with benefits. Soon he started only texting me at night, and we never hung out during the day anymore. When I finally confronted him about it, he said he didn’t want me to get the wrong idea about what he wanted.”

If the hook-up is truly casual, then it shouldn’t disrupt the friendship you had beforehand in a negative way.

“It has taken an unhealthy turn when he doesn't contact you for two weeks, and all of the sudden, he contacts you, comes over, has sex and leaves immediately,” Wygant says.

While many casual hook-ups take this form in college, hooking up with a friend shouldn’t mean that your friendship goes out the window. If hooking up becomes more important than the friendship in a way that feels uncomfortable to you, it may be time to stop and go back to being just friends.

A crucial part of making a FWB relationship work is ensuring that you can actually stay friends. While it’s expected that your friendship will change as you move into the FWB stage, if hooking up is causing noticeable problems in your friendship that didn’t exist beforehand, it’s time to evaluate why that’s happening and if you should continue down the road you’re on.

“I thought casually hooking up with my best friend would give me the best of both worlds,” says Ariana, a senior at Lehigh University. “It was great for a few weeks until we started fighting and there was a lot of unwanted tension between us. It got so bad that we stopped speaking for a few months, so it definitely wasn’t worth going down that road. I wish I had stopped hooking up with him before it got to that point.”

If you truly consider this guy or girl a friend, it’s important to keep that in mind and figure out if the benefits are worth the problems they may be causing.

5. You’re hooking up to hold on to a friendship.

So you started hooking up with one of your friends, and now you’re not that into it anymore. However, you’re scared that if you stop, your friendship might stop, too. This is a problem many collegiettes face when they enter a FWB situation.

If you’re casually hooking up with a friend and find that, for whatever reason, it’s not what you want anymore, continuing to hook up to avoid friend drama will end up creating more trouble for yourself in the end.

Because this hook-up is relatively casual, having a conversation with your friend to either fix what you don’t like about the situation or to end it altogether and go back to being friends shouldn’t have the dramatic aftereffects that a serious breakup would have.

“What you need to do is you need to end it, and end it fast,” Wygant says. “I've seen many girls [and] many women literally continue these things for two years. And it's literally like driving around a cul-de-sac; you're never going to get out, you're never going to get in, you're never going to get anywhere.”

To avoid getting stuck in an unwanted situation, let your FWB know that you think you both were better off as friends. If he or she saw the relationship as casually as you did, this should be a drama-free exit.

While the idea of going home with your go-to movie marathon partner can be incredibly appealing, it may not work the way you planned. If you find yourself struggling to deal with the hook-up, it could mean that it’s no longer working for you. You should either move forward to something more serious or eliminate the “benefits” aspect altogether.

Today, Her Campus Co-Founder Windsor Hanger Western will be attending the United State of Women Summit, an incredible event convened by the White House to cover and discuss gender equality issues. The topics for the event include health, education, violence against women and entrepreneurship. And of course, tons of amazing women are in attendance—Kerry Washington, Amy Poehler and Nancy Pelosi, to name a few!

Luckily, the summit has a livestream so you can follow along with the action. Check it out here! Hint: We'd recommend tuning in at 2:30 p.m. when the President speaks, and at 5:20 p.m. for a power conversation between the First Lady and Oprah—But here's the full schedule for the day. Windsor will also be live-tweeting throughout, so follow her @HerCampus!

Following the mass shooting that took place in Orlando early Sunday morning, Kim Kardashian took to Twitter to make yet another call to Congress to close the "terror gap."

Kim explained the terror gap concept to her followers while asking Congress to change gun laws that give people on terror watch lists easy access to purchase weapons.

Kim has previously used her platform to speak up about the need for stricter gun laws in the United States. After Valerie Jackson and her family were murdered by her ex-boyfriend David Conley in 2015, Kim took to Twitter to highlight issues with gun safety.

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star is just one of many celebrities tweeting their anger and heartbreak following the events at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. We can only hope that something changes and that mass shootings become much less common.

If you keep up with the news, politics or pop culture, you've likely noticed that things like sexuality and gender identity are becoming more and more common topics of conversation. Individuals like Laverne Cox, Kristen Stewart and Amandla Stenberg are exposing the exclusionary nature of the vocabulary for identity that most of us take for granted.

Because this is the case, there has been a proliferation of new identity-related terms that can be difficult to keep track of, particularly if you don't understand what they mean or what they have to do with. Her Campus is here to help, by breaking down pansexuality and some recurrent misunderstandings surrounding the word! We reached out to experts in LGBTQ+ issues as well as collegiettes to get the lowdown on all things pansexual.

Pansexual, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means to be “not limited in sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity.” Put more simply, this means that pansexual individuals can be attracted to individuals of any gender identity. This includes trans folks, non-binary identifying people, as well as gender fluid individuals.

If you’re unfamiliar with this term, don’t worry! It only first appeared in 1926, according to Merriam Webster, and Google Books reports that usage of the word “pansexual” has only become popular in recent years. Unless you are extremely well-versed in LGBTQ+ issues (or Miley Cyrus’s sexual preferences), pansexuality is probably not part of your daily vocabulary.

Because of pansexuality’s relative uncommonness in the popular vernacular, it is often misconstrued in a number of ways. We’re here to help clear up some of this confusion by exposing five of the most frequent misunderstandings about pansexuality!

1. Pansexual individuals are automatically promiscuous

People who are pansexual are often characterized as promiscuous or “easy.” Some pansexual individuals, of course, might indeed be more sexually active than others, but to say that this is in any way bad, irresponsible or immoral is a form of slut-shaming. 

Pansexual individuals, because of their personal preferences and feelings, simply have more options. It makes sense that they might have more sexual partners; they have a wider pool to choose from! Dr. Frankie Bashan, lesbian matchmaker, dating and relationship coach and psychotherapist, says, "somebody who's pansexual...may even have more of a likelihood to connect with more people because they're more open!"

For people who don't identify as pansexual, other forms of attraction might elicit a negative reaction because worries and misunderstandings about what these differences might mean. Dr Bashan adds that pansexuality "brings up a lot of fears...[others think] that they can't trust this person, that this person can't be loyal, this person can't be monogomous...all these assumptions are made because it's based out of fear...of being abandoned."

To suggest that pansexual individuals are any different from anyone else in terms of their sexual proclivities doesn’t make any sense! As stated by Everyday Feminism magazine, “just because a pansexual person can be attracted to anybody does not mean that they are attracted to everybody.”

Like people of all sexual orientations, pansexual people don’t adhere to any kind of rulebook with regard to their romantic or sexual (and all other) pursuits. One’s sexual orientation does not dictate how much or how little they actually have sex, are in relationships or anything else other than to whom they could possibly be attracted sexually!

RELATED: 9 College Women Get Real About Coming Out

2. Pansexuality is the same as bisexuality

Our society’s extreme reliance on the male-female gender binary results in a misunderstanding that pansexuality is the same as bisexuality. The gender binary only permits identification as a woman or as a man, which means that the most sexually open one could be is to these two genders (therefore, bi, meaning “two”).

Pansexuality rests on the understanding that gender fluidity exists, and that folks might identify as female or male or any other gender identity they feel fits them best. Referring back to our definition, pansexual people are not attracted to only cisgender people or only transgender people. Their preferences span the entire gender spectrum!

Bisexuality refers to individuals who are attracted to males and females (or, to just two gender identities). Bisexual people are attracted to particular people based on their gender identity. Go Ask Alice!, an online health resource, says that pansexuality is “generally considered a more inclusive term than bisexual.” Bisexuality and pansexuality are not completely unrelated, but there is an important distinction to be made between the two.

It might be the case that a person does not have a preference with regard to gender identity, but feels comfortable using the more widely-accepted and recognized identifier or bisexual. Alaina Leary, a second-year graduate student at Emerson College, says “many bisexual people are truly ‘pansexual’ but just don’t know about or use the label.” When she came out, pansexual did not really exist as a term or identifier and she wanted to maintain her bisexual affiliation, as that was what she was used to and content with.

On the other hand, sometimes the difference here can be really important to a person's identity. Dr. Frankie says that one of the most common obstacles pansexual people face is "not feeling like they're included...they don't feel like there's a place for them...because there's not a lot of visibility; they're not out there."

3. Pansexuality means you’re attracted to non-human things

In an effort to put down other people who are different, people who don’t believe in or disagree with pansexuality frequently attempt to insult pansexual people by saying that they are attracted to animals or objects (most often, pans, because of the word’s prefix). These forms of attraction do exist, and are known as zoophilia and object sexuality, respectively. Likening pansexuality to either of these orientations in order to suggest that pansexuality is abnormal is not only insulting to pansexual people, but to individuals of other orientations as well.

It isn’t useful to make these kinds of comparisons between sexual orientations, and though the distinctions are nuanced, it is important to understand the various, innumerable forms of attraction that exist, as well as the fact that they are not static. On her own sexuality, Alaina adds that “I don’t stop being bisexual/pansexual based on who I’m dating.”

Dr. Frankie makes the point that pansexuality and object sexuality or zoophila are "totally separate" ideas. Pansexuality involves an attraction that is exclusively to other humans, so there isn't even a comparison to be made! Anyone who makes this kind of judgement does so out of a desire to elevate their own preferences or way of life at the expense of a pansexual person. 

RELATED: Genderqueer: Questioning Your Gender Identity In College

4. Pansexuality is just the latest trend

It’s easy to dismiss pansexuality as something illegitimate, born on the Internet or only existing among young people. None of these characterizations are true, however. Pansexuality has existed for as long as people themselves have, there simply was not a word to describe it until the 20th century.

Dr. Beth Shapiro, therapist and social worker who works with LGBT issues, adds that "People may be no more or less pansexual than they were" before the actual term "pansexual" emerged, "The identification of this offered a simpler way to discuss this experience, and an easier target to identify for judgement." Pansexuality might seemingly only exist among younger people, but this can be explained by the more open attitudes towards sexuality, gender and identity that younger people hold.

CNN writes that the increased inclusion of identities like pansexuality “especially among millennials and ‘generation Z’” makes sense because of the freedom of choice and expression this inclusion allows for. Because of stricter, more traditional social standards among older people, identifying as pansexual is not as common. Once again, this does not mean no older people are pansexual, they just might not choose to identify this way.

Dr. Shapiro says, "The identification of pansexuality is a challenge to [people's] comfort zone." For this reason, it is easy to brush off pansexuality as a fad. This way, no one really has to confront their ignorance. 

5. Pansexuality is itself a myth

Disregarding pansexuality by discounting it entirely serves to pathologize pansexual people. As Alaina says, “It is very possible to be attracted to people of all genders.” Attraction, as we all very well know, is complex and almost futile to attempt to control. Pansexual people aren’t going through a phase and they’re not confused—if anything, their ability to more specifically identify their sexual preferences indicates that they’re less confused than those of us who take up more general labels!

Additionally, one’s sexuality doesn’t have to be verified by who they have or have not had sex or been in a relationship with. Alaina offers, for example, “When straight women get boyfriends, do they stop thinking guys are hot? According to the amount of my friends who talk about Channing Tatum on the regular, no!” The laws of attraction aren’t really laws at all. They are socially constructed norms that oversimplify the realities we all face when it comes to our own emotions.

Identity is very complicated, personal and often political in nature, as evidenced by recent events in North Carolina, Mississippi and other places around the world. What’s important to remember is, at the end of the day, we all need to respect one another and how we choose to carry out our lives and label ourselves. For some, labels are extraordinarily important and validating, and for others, this is simply not the case.

All we can do to combat panphobia is keep talking about it. Deep down, anyone who rejects the notion of pansexuality is just scared or not understanding the concept. As stated by Dr. Frankie, "human beings...[are] complicated and...if we identify as pansexual [we need to] be out there and find a way to educate people and find a way to help them understand." Dr. Shapiro concurs, further stating that "keeping ourselves ignorant creates and fosters a feeding ground for fear and misperception."

In the same vein, it's not a good strategy to combatively try to alter another person's understanding of the world that surrounds them. Dr. Shaprio states that "We cannot force people to accept things that are beyond their capacity...by living lives as openly as possible/feasible," we might be able to change perceptions and form a more compassionate world. 

We are all different, and though none of us can presume to understand someone else’s exact circumstances, we can all fight for the acknowledgement and equality of these different circumstances. This way, we can make room for everyone to be happy and represented, no matter how they identify!

After the horrific tragedy that occurred in Orlando on Sunday, millions of Americans are left in awe, distress and mourning for those lost in the attack. With a total of 50 people dead and many more injured, this shooting has officially been named the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

The United States has more mass shootings than any other nation in the world. It is incredible that a nation founded on the basis of freedom is single-handedly placing itself under the tyranny of guns and their ability to enact mass destruction and devastation on its citizens.

The recent shootings are a result not only of terrorism coming from abroad, but terrorism coming from within the walls of our nation as well: the terrorism of guns. We constantly see politicians share their ideas on fighting terrorism and taking down ISIS once and for all, but most neglect to mention that these far too frequent mass shootings are happening with legally obtained guns, by legal citizens of the U.S. 

Out of the 62 mass shootings that have occurred in the U.S. since 1982, 49 of these shootings were performed using legally obtained guns. While the argument used by many conservatives—that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”—is true, what would these people do if they didn’t have access to guns? What person just casually has a need for a military grade assault rifle? Why are we still allowing ordinary people to purchase the kind of weapons that make mass murders that much easier? We must hinder gun accessibility in order to curb gun massacres.

The U.S. clearly has a lot to learn when it comes to gun control, considering we lead the world in mass shootings. The best way to predict what will happen if gun laws are tightened is to observe the ways these laws have worked in other nations around the world. 

In the United Kingdom, members of the public can own sporting rifles and shotguns, but only with proper licensing. All handguns were effectively outlawed in 1966, after the Dunblane School Massacre, the UK’s first and only school shooting. In Great Britain, the police are not routinely armed and fatal shootings of police happen rarely, if at all. The fact that the UK has one of the lowest rates of gun homicide in the world is not exactly a coincidence. 

These laws were put in place after ONE school shooting. How many more fatal shootings will it take America to do the same? The UK is only one example of nations with stricter gun control laws that have seen serious beneficial results. Nations such as Germany, Finland, Italy and France have all had similar results.

Many people argue that guns are needed for protection, but if there were no guns to protect against, this wouldn't be an issue. Others argue that it is their civil right to own guns under the Second Amendment. However, this amendment originated to ensure protection against a tyrannical government, not against the LGBTQ+ community or the man down the street who is of a different race than you. Those who support these arguments are often the same people who are obsessed with fighting terrorism, as it poses such a dangerous threat to our country. What these people seem to forget is that far more people are dying from firearm incidents than they are from terrorism. 

From 2001 to 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Council of Foreign Affairs,  11,385 people died annually from firearm incidents. During this same time frame, an average of of 517 people died annually from terror-related incidents. Terrorism is certainly a problem that needs to be dealt with, but the casualties pale in comparison to those of firearm related deaths.

My question for the American people is this: Why do we only care about protecting ourselves from foreigners, when many incidents of mass devastation are coming from within our very own borders? Why are so few people noticing that it is far too often the unsuspected white male who has no issue walking into a school or movie theater and killing innocent people?

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is well known for their position that allowing U.S. citizens to carry concealed firearms would reduce crime and keep the nation safe. But how is adding more guns into the mix going to stop gun violence? Giving literally anyone the ability to fire a gun every time they feel threatened or scared is not going to save any more lives—it is only going to lose us more. This goal of safety is also only plausible if these people are well aware of how to use the gun in the first place. A firearm novice trying to defend himself has the possibility of not only killing himself, but innocent people as well.

While I respectfully understand that many people wish to have guns for hunting, or even for protection, I do question why they protest stricter control on these dangerous weapons. A detailed background check or limitation on the level of firearms available to the general public could save thousands of lives. Requiring a psychiatric evaluation or checking for a criminal record is going to help stop the mass murderers of the world from getting their hands on the guns that make these horrific crimes possible. 

Omar Mateen, the man behind the recent Orlando shooting, was an American-born citizen who pledged allegiance to ISIS during the shooting. His ex-wife claims that he was unstable and that he beat her during their marriage. Many of his friends and co-workers say he had problems with rage. He had even been interviewed by the FBI in 2013 for possible terror relations. Despite these major red flags, this man was easily able to legally obtain a 9 mm handgun and an AR-15 rifle and brutally murder 49 innocent people.

I realize that these people have other ways of getting weapons. They could steal them or obtain them illegally through a black market deal, but shouldn’t we at least be trying to make it difficult for them? Fewer guns in circulation means fewer guns to be illegally obtained. In my ideal world, all guns would be outlawed from the U.S. outside of military purposes. Since this isn’t going to happen any time soon, and probably never will, it can’t hurt to have fewer guns in circulation and make it more difficult for criminals to walk into any store and easily purchase a gun. I understand that people might want a hand gun for protection or a hunting rifle for sport, but no one outside of the military or mass murderers needs an AK-57 or any other type of firearm that deadly.

I recognize that not every person with a gun is going to engage in mass murder. Many people are well-trained to use guns responsibly and safely, but we need this strict control for those who are not. I’m not saying that you can’t have guns, and I’m not saying that you are wrong to want guns. What I am saying is that it is wrong to let people be irresponsible with their guns and wrong to allow this type of devastating murder to keep happening. 

America deserves better than another mass shooting. If we respect ourselves as a nation, it shouldn't be so easy for them to occur.

After 29-year-old Omar Mateen staged the worst mass shooting in U.S. history inside the walls of Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, saddened and shocked people everywhere have been asking "Why?" Were the motives homophobia, extremism or both? Could we have seen this coming? As many seek to understand why this tragedy occurred, Mateen's father spoke out about his son's actions.

CBS News reports that Seddique Mir Mateen posted in a Facebook video yesterday that he had no knowledge of what caused his son to kill other people. "I don't know what has caused him to shoot and I did not understand that he holds (a) grudge in his heart," said Seddique. "I am terrifically saddened by what he did."

Although he tried to apologize on his son's behalf, the elder Mateen also mentioned, in a pretty questionable way, the homophobia surrounding the incident. "God himself will give punishment to homosexuality, it is not for people to decide."

However, Mateen clarified these statements in a recent interview with CBS News at his request, claiming that he does not agree nor condone his son's actions. "He doesn't have the right, nobody has the right to harm anything, anybody."

The elder Mateen continued, "What a person's lifestyle is, is up to him. It's a free country. Everybody has their own choice to live the way they want to live." Mateen also said he was unaware of any radical Islamic connections or beliefs his son may have had.

"I wish I did know that what he was doing. If I did catch him, I would have arrested him myself," said Seddique, according to WBUR.

Despite Seddique Mateen’s empathetic rhetoric in his video and interview, some experts have pinned him as "delusional." According toThe Washington Post, the elder Mateen hosted a California-based Afghani T.V. show, called "Durand Jirga," that often contained inflammatory, anti-U.S. sentiments—including a Thank You to the Afghan Taliban. He also posted videos to YouTube claiming to be an important Afghan analyst and leader, in addition to posing as a “revolutionary” president of Afghanistan. He has even tried to order the arrests of multiple Afghan political figures, believing himself to be a leader of a transitional revolution for the Middle Eastern nation.

Despite his dubious past, Mateen told The Post that he planned on visiting Orlando to comfort the families of victims. "If they're not ready, I still say to them, "I'm sorry,'" he said. "I’m saddened for their injury or if they lost their dear one."

Hilary Duff, aka single mom GOALS, has been getting flack for an outfit she wore to drop off her 4-year-old son Luca at school. She posted a picture of the outfit on Instagram, and trolls were quick to judge.

In the mirror selfie, the former Lizzie McGuire wears a super cute getup that consists of sneakers, a pink trench coat, a sweater, shades and denim shorts. Responses to her Instagram post have been mixed, with some celebrating the awesomeness of Duff’s outfit-coordinating skills and others saying that her shorts are an inappropriate choice of attire for a mother and for school.

Um, excuse us, but if we could look this good before 9 a.m., we might stop doing our actual work and just work it. The post is from over two months ago and is just now getting traction, so this is clearly a case of haters just looking to put someone down. Hilary Duff loves herself and her look, and some people apparently don’t want to see that in their feeds. It’s called an unfollow button, people! *insert annoyed emoji*

Thankfully, this hate doesn’t seem to be any skin off Duff’s back, as she has continued posting adorable pics of herself, her son and her outfits on her Instagram since. These haters are probably just jealous, considering Duff’s son Luca is beyond-words adorable and her Instagram aesthetic is on point.

This story calls to mind the reaction to Kim Kardashian’s #BreakTheInternet photo shoot, as well as the shame she received upon sharing that nude selfie in March. No one wants to let moms live, it would seem.

Why do we care so much about what these famous matriarchs wear or do not wear? Why do we think it is our place to say whether or not this makes them good parents? This has got to stop. We need to celebrate motherhood in all its forms, and self-love must be a part of that. Our hats are off to you, Ms. Duff. Keep rockin’ the short shorts.