I hope that by having 2,996 of us write a tribute to these people that we will each learn about our victims. We will burn into our own brains the details of their lives and come to know more about them than we do about the monsters who took their lives. I can say that after doing my own research I will never forget the name of my victim.

I think of this a little bit like a giant wake, where we celebrate their lives and not the circumstances of their unfortunate deaths.

By taking the time and energy to remember them we can keep them alive in our own memories. We can keep them alive for as long as we refuse to forget them.