I’m Nicole. I am a student at Columbine High School. I love my school with all my heart. Yes, I know what happened in 1999. No, it doesn’t change my love for the school. Does it affect my life that the school shooting happened? A couple months ago, I would have said no. Of course it was tragic and brought the community closer, but I wasn’t even born yet. But now it affects me every day.

Recently, I read Columbine by Dave Cullen, which details everything you could possibly want to know about the victims, the shooters, the day it happened, and the aftermath. Not only does Cullen’s book cover everything, he gives facts that are one hundred percent true.

As a high school student, I know that rumors are everywhere. Friends from other schools have told me what they’ve heard about the shooters’ motives and everything that happened. They asked, “Is that really what happened?” My answer is, read Columbine. It’s the truth and nothing but the truth. Cullen spent years researching, analyzing, and interviewing to write this life-changing book.

One aspect I loved was that Cullen focuses on the two shooters, but he also includes anecdotes about other individuals who may not seem as important. These little stories are the ones that will touch readers the most. Cullen shares their stories to show that this tragedy was hard on everyone.

After reading Columbine, I will never look at my school in the same way again. Cullen describes specific rooms where events happened, and now I notice how often I pass those rooms, those spots. It has changed the way I walk around my school. I look at these places with the knowledge of what happened there, and then I see students laughing and smiling faces everywhere.

This book is proof that the Columbine tragedy was even harder than I could fathom. My school is proof that despite sorrow and loss, when a community comes together, there’s hope for the future.