As I drive to school, the glistening sun begins to show its sleepy face through the trees. The vibrant colors of orange, yellow, and pink spill across the sky, waking all that is near. The smooth voices of NPR news reporters play in the background. Then, as clear as freshly made glass, I hear “a Colorado man pleaded guilty to killing his wife and two daughters.”

How can something be so beautiful yet so ugly?

There are many times when it seems like the world has completely stopped. Almost as if it knows that our tiny human brains need a moment to process.

The utter amazement we feel while looking up at the shining stars and the complete fear after hearing about another school shooting can be overwhelming. We watch as the colorful leaves fall and suddenly hear the daunting sound of an Amber Alert go off.

Somehow, this has become normal, but it shouldn’t be.

Was there ever a time when everyone was friends, and no one had to be worried about being judged? Was there ever a time when no one had evil thoughts? Is a place like that even possible?

A world with only the beauty of sunrises, flowers, and the kindest of hearts. It seems impossible, yet everyone strives for it.

Even an inch of beauty can lead to a mile of hopes and dreams.

Unfortunately, this world comes with both the beautiful and the ugly. There is no way of getting around it.

One thing I have come to realize is that the more ugly there is in the world, the more we learn to appreciate the beauty. In a way, that can be a good thing, but it should not take a war for us to realize how truly amazing the world and the people in it can be.

It has also become more evident that we as humans pay more attention to the ugly rather than the beautiful. The news does not help with this by only informing us of the bad. How this happened and why we do it are questions I cannot answer.

Instead of working together to better the world, we do what humans do best: complain. Whether it is a minor inconvenience or a big dilemma, humans will complain about it. I admit this is a nasty habit I wish I didn’t have.

With what seems like the end of the world, is it just the start of a new place full of ugliness? A place where beauty is only a thing of the past?

I really hope not because seeing the first snowfall makes me excited and happy. The prospect of hearing gunshots only makes me scared and anxious.

In a perfect world, hate would not exist, and we would be surrounded only by love and laughter. This is nothing more than a far-off dream, right?

My wish is to bring this perfect world as close to reality as possible. I want people to focus less on the ugly and more on the beautiful things this world provides.

So why is the world like this?

How can something be so beautiful yet so ugly?