I've been going to concerts pretty regularly since I was 14. They're my absolute favorite thing in the world. Music is a huge part of my life and I love getting the chance to see my favorite bands live. After over 40 concerts, I've never felt unsafe at a concert, but the recent bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in the UK really puts things into perspective.

I've been to a few shows at tiny clubs where my bag hasn't been checked. My initial thought is, "yay they didn't take away my water," but now I wish they had checked bags. What if something happened at that concert? Attacks like the one in Manchester are extremely rare but they can and do happen anywhere. There's nothing special about attacking Manchester. There's nothing special about attacking a concert venue in Paris in 2015. It's just a crowded place where terrorists know they can injure lots of people. An attack could happen at the next concert I go to. This attack was a real wake-up call for me to remember that tragic events can happen anywhere. If an attack can happen at the largest arena in the UK, that really says something about security. It's not even security going into the venue, because the bomb was placed outside the arena, but security needs to watch outside the venue too. They need to check and see if there are any suspicious people waiting for huge crowds to come out of one condensed area.

What really bothers me about the attack in Manchester is that Ariana Grande's fanbase is largely young girls and teenagers. Most of the victims were under 18. Kids went to that concert to see their idol and they didn't leave that venue alive. That concert must've been so many kids' first concert. It just reminds me of the excitement I had leading up to my very first concert when I was 12. I just can't imagine what it's like to wait months and months to see your favorite singer and then not live to see the next day. Or even for the survivors, how traumatizing that must be to think this would be the best day of your life and then an event like this happens. If I was at that concert I would be terrified to go to a concert ever again, terrified to go to the place that makes me happiest. Why would someone want to take that away from so many innocent souls? Concerts are a place where people come together to connect with people who love the same music as them. The best days of my entire life have been at concerts. It hurts to know that that feeling has been taken away from thousands of people because of one senseless act of terrorism.