Kylie Niemi stood in front of her 10th grade class at Monroe High School Tuesday morning, delivering a lesson in the brutal reality of life as a child in the United States.
"On February 14, an ex-student went into his high school and murdered 17 people. A lot of these people were young kids," she stoically said. "This is a traumatic event that never should have happened."
Sickened by America's latest school massacre, Kylie admits to worrying when she and her little brother head to school in the morning.
"I kind of wonder, 'Is this the day?' No student should ever have to go through that," she said.
Instead of retreating into fear, however, Kylie is walking boldly into love.
She's convincing classmates to write letters of kindness and encouragement to school shooting survivors in Florida.
"Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars that prove we showed up for it," wrote Isabelle Hamamoto.
"I hope with all of my heart you know you are loved and you have support even all the way from Washington," added another student.
Grace Lochman drew pretty pink designs meant to be bright and uplifting.
"It's really sad to see other kids like us go through that," she said.
The letters are not political in nature and are meant solely to help the survivors heal.
"These people doing these bad things aren't feeling love. If we spread that around the world, bad things like this won't happen as often," said sophomore Cayden Silvey.
Several hundred letters will be mailed to the Parkland, Florida, students over the coming weeks.
Kylie hopes the letters will have a ripple effect of compassion that might even touch the heart of some other alienated student out there, before it's too late.
"I'm so tired of it, she said. "I'm so tired of seeing the headlines. These students are hurting, that community is hurting. I know I have the power, now, to do something about it."