-- LEXIE OSMUN, Pasco

With the new year, I hope that it comes with a new state of mind. All of these tragedies over the past few years aren't helping the American people strive for greatness. How can they when their loved ones aren't even safe at school anymore? What happened in Connecticut is one of the saddest tragedies of all because 20 children were killed. Before that, there was the shooting at the Oregon mall. Going to school or going out should be fun. We shouldn't be worrying about what could happen if we go out of the house and we definitely should not even think about the fact that it isn't safe.

The first step to success will be to try to make Americans feel safe. That is what will help keep the United States whole. It will take everyone confiding in each other for us to succeed as a country. Then we can move on from there.