The world is a scary place. Plain and simple, but not plain or simple at all. The sun can be shining and you can be jamming out to Taylor Swift with your roommates, but then one CNN update can completely change your mindset, create such fear that you have absolutely no words, except that mass shootings have become an all-too-familiar American reality.

I don't have a great memory, but I'm the type of person who remembers where I am and what I'm doing when I hear certain pieces of news, whether they are sad, exciting, happy or scary. I remember what I was doing when I found out I got into my dream college, where I was when I found out that my Grandpa died, and what I think about every time I hear about another mass shooting.

Besides being completely devastated, I think about the children that live in the world, in America. The children I babysit, the children that I see drawing with sidewalk chalk on my block, the children that have their whole life ahead of them. I think about their safety, their future, how scared they must feel. I also think about how easy it is for these children to live in fear, especially when there is so much fear to live by.

Although I am not a child anymore, I can tell you that when I was growing up, I was oblivious; I was unaware of the bad in this world. I was unaware, but I was also taught to live my life not in fear, but with hope. While I am constantly being exposed to the scary reality that is taking over news stations, children are writing stories about what they want to be when they grow up. They are playing dress-up, figuring out if they like soccer or not, and feeling amused by the silliest things.

Is that ignorance? If children grow up with the constant feeling of fear, how is our country, our world, going to get any better? Not to bring philosophy into this, but Plato once said "courage is knowing what not to fear," and let me tell you, children are on the right track in terms of understanding this quote. These children that are growing up as we hear tragedies revolved around hate are the future leaders of our country, and fear is one weakness that we must try and hide them from.

No, this is not ignorance. No, this is that oblivion. This is reminding children that there is no success in a world that is surrounded by fear and hate. For with fear, hope becomes harder and harder to obtain. As childish as this may sound, I feel as though it can help make my point.

In the classic Disney movie "The Little Mermaid," Ariel says, "I just don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be so bad." Leave the children of our world with this quote, and not the body count of yet another mass shooting. Remind them that yes, there are scary people in this world, but that they should find reasons to smile and have hope that things will one day get better.

Remind them that they are the future leaders, the future peacemakers, the future. Lastly, remind them to view the world not as a place where they should be scared, but a place they can change.