By Naderah Brooks

In 2012, I was a 17-year-old teen in my last year of high school. I was excited because I had dreams to one day become a national best-selling author. A year later, on February 5, I celebrated my 18th birthday with my family and I remember how hard my mother and grandmother cried because I lived to be a promising young adult. At the time I weighed about 160 and was afraid of eating too much cake because I wanted to watch my figure for prom. My family and I still talk about that joyous day. I didn’t know that there was another person in the world that shared my birthday. His name was Trayvon Martin.I imagine that Trayvon Martin’s family celebrated his birthday on February 5th.

I can imagine that Trayvon’s family was excited that their son had lived to be a young adult. I can imagine that Trayvon Martin had hopes and aspirations to one day take the world by storm. During the time he weighed 160 at 5’11’’ , as a football player at his school I am sure he expected to receive a college scholarship for all of his hard work.

But, on February 26, 2012 none of those dreams mattered when you chose to take away his life because of racial profiling. You decided that he was a criminal because he wore a hoodie, a typical piece of clothing that every teen in America owns. You decided that Trayvon Martin would not take the world by storm because he was not worthy of all that the world had to offer him. When you pulled the trigger, you ended Trayvon Martin’s life before it had a chance to begin.

Three years have passed since I’ve graduated high school. Four years have passed since Trayvon Martin’s passing. Soon I will be graduating from college and Trayvon’s family will still mourn his death. Unfortunately, they cannot properly mourn the loss of their son because you decided to auction off the gun for $138,000 to the highest bidder. His family will not get to see their son receive a college diploma, complain about his first job, or rent an apartment. However, his family can watch news clips about the firearm that you used to “protect your life.”

You were acquitted for standing your ground as Florida law states, but karma is coming back to haunt you, Mr. Zimmerman.

• Sincerely, Naderah