I was 6 years old when 9/11 occurred. I was in the first grade. I was a kid. I didn’t know what terror was. I didn’t know what fear was. I didn’t know hatred. I was still learning right from wrong.

Now I’m 21. Sadly I now know what terror is. I now know what fear feels like. I have experienced loss. I have witnessed unfortunate accidents.

The sadness that was once due to a lost blanket or short nap time has now been replaced by loss of lives, of tragedy, of the unknown. You turn on the television to watch another “accident” devastate the world. You open the newspaper to read about another killing. You browse the internet and read about another rape.

Look at what has happened in less than 15 years. As we have progressed in all aspects, the amount of severe problems and negativity has increased. So what is going to happen in the next 5, 10, 50 years? Where will the world be then if this is where we are now?

Are my kids going to grow up in terror? Children deserve to be carefree and innocent. It doesn’t mean the need to be unformed or careless, but they shouldn’t be scared every day.

I’m not naive. I know the world isn’t butterflies and rainbows, and I don’t expect it to be. But I also don’t expect it to be evil, to be tragic, to be filled with negativity, sadness and disappointment.

It seems that’s what we are turning into. It feels like it’s 500 bad stories to five good ones.

I’m not writing this to blame anybody. Hell is there anybody to blame? Is it the government? Can you blame the mom who glanced away from her son? Can you blame the rich boy who thought the drunk college girl meant yes? Can you blame the cop who was just doing his job?

Maybe we need to stop looking to point the finger. Maybe it’s time to look ourselves in the mirror. Maybe we need to change. To reevaluate ourselves. Our morals, our standards, our beliefs. Maybe the change needs to come from within. Maybe it’s time to challenge the environment in which we find ourselves, to the things we have become accustomed to. Maybe it’s time to say enough is enough. Maybe it’s up to us, each individual, to want a change. Because if we continue looking to someone else, if we continue to place the blame on someone or something else, then nothing will change. We need to begin to take responsibility for our actions, for the person we are every day. Together world, we can change.

But after all, what do I know, right? I am just a 21-year-old college student. I haven’t traveled the world. I haven’t discovered a new technological concept. I am no military hero. But what I do have is that feeling. The one that is buried deep in your gut, the one that tells you something is wrong. One that I believe many other people share with me.