Paris. Orlando. Manchester. London.
The shootings. The stabbings. The suicide bombings. In the heat of the moment, the darkness at hand clouds our minds and tears blur our eyes. It makes us wonder: Why do horrible things keep happening to innocent people?
And then the social media feeds start to populate with tweets and status updates like "I'm too afraid to leave my house" or "I can't go to another concert ever again."
It's OK to be scared. It's OK to be sad. And it's OK to be angry. But you cannot let fear, sadness and anger take over your life.
Many of my friends and I who were at the concert where Christina Grimmie was killed afterward have since attended more shows. Ariana Grande--the epitome of an incredibly brave, strong woman--got back on stage in Manchester for a massive benefit concert that she put together, less than two weeks after 22 people were killed in an explosion at her concert.
The lyrics of Miley Cyrus's new song "Inspired," which she performed at the One Love Manchester benefit concert on June 4, are all about positivity pushing through, even when it hurts.
"I'll start feeling mad, but then I feel inspired."
"Lost is life, it's not a curse
Reminds us of time, and what it's worth
To make the most out of it while we're here."
I know times like these are scary, angering, cruel, confusing and heartbreaking. The truth is that we live in a fallen world, evil exists, and sometimes bad things happen to good people. It doesn't always make sense, and it's not fair.
But the evil intentions of these people who are sick enough to want to harm and destroy are NOT representative of humanity as a whole.
Some coward with his or her eyes fixated on harming people in the name of terrorism is not representative of humanity. A twisted and ill-willed ideology is not representative of humanity. Hatred is not representative of humanity.
Humanity means respect. Humanity means being willing to help others when they need it the most. Humanity means love. And love is the light that pierces through the darkness and guides us in the direction we need to be going. It conquers fear and it conquers hate.
Anything can happen anywhere, at any time, but we cannot let fear dictate how we live. We can't just stop going to concerts, going to malls, going out into the world. We can't let fear stop us in our tracks.
When Ariana Grande's manager, Scooter Braun, took the stage at One Love Manchester, he shared a message from a teenaged friend of Olivia Campbell – one of the 22 Manchester attack victims.
"Don't go forward in anger; love spreads."
From someone who's been there before, from someone who lived on high alert for weeks following a terrifying situation, I want you to know that it's OK to mourn and it's OK to let your emotions run their course. It's OK to fall and feel defeated, to feel broken, to feel jumpy and nervous and edgy.
But once you've cried your tears, don't forget to pick yourself back up off the ground, dust yourself off and move forward. If you stay down, evil wins. If you stay down, you're giving evildoers what they wanted.
Don't be afraid to keep living life and going about your daily business. You have gifts and abilities and talents that the world needs. Your life has a purpose; don't let it be hampered by fear.
Ariana Grande's mom walked through the crowd at One Love Manchester, hugging fans and telling them not to be afraid. Stare fear in the face and show evil that it has no place in the presence of love.
