Now, I know what you are thinking: "Who is this white girl and what did she just say?"

Surprise! I am not here to write an entitled, racist article about what I think is happening in Syria and why the mighty U.S. of A is so much better. Instead, I hope to achieve quite the opposite. I want to shed some light on the concept of a "victim."

It is no secret that the people of Syria are experiencing unfathomable pain and suffering. I find it hard to even put into words what this country and its people are going through as I sit here in my nice little apartment in the bustling city of Los Angeles. It seems both futile and imprudent for me to act like I have any knowledge or understanding of what Syrian people are dealing with day in and day out. Just like anyone reading this article, I am in a place of privilege, and I do not want this entitlement to taint or dilute the message I wish to convey.

I have recently been pondering the notion of what it means to be a victim. While the definition of a victim states that it is a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or another event, there lies a latent, more covert meaning.

A victim is perceived as a sufferer being preyed upon by an evil outside force. This means that in order for someone to be a victim, they are put into a box where they are then stripped of all strength and fortitude. When one pictures a victim, it is almost as if they are a sad, little puppy in need of saving. Victims are deprived of their ability to be seen by the outside world as embodiments of mental and physical vitality and endurance. Despite the immense struggles these people go through, they are continuously looked at in a woeful, tragic manner.

There is also a power dynamic within the concept of victimization. For one to be a victim, they are placed into a lower level of society deemed dismal and pitiful. These people then require saving from an outside strong and robust force, people of prestige and power.

One might argue and say that this dynamic is not quite accurate or fair as people in the positions of power see the suffering of victims and only wish to help. However, there still remains a situation where one group is allowed to be perceived as functioning, productive human beings while the other group, the victims, are stuck with this limiting label. Victims are not given the ability to be discerned as anything other than a victim. They are deprived of all other human qualities such as vigor, bravery, and perseverance; these qualities are then replaced with things like fragility, misery and agony.

Although there is no doubt that the people of Syria are living through incomprehensible terror, inhumanity, and destruction, I think we all need to alter and reverse our cognition of what it means to be a victim. A victim represents weakness, and the people of Syria are anything but weak. They are survivors. They are the epitome of absolute vitality and courage. They define what it means to endure and hold on in the face of unimaginable cruelty.

The world should be appalled at the capabilities of human beings; the events going on in Syria depicts the evil we have deep down inside us all. Although I believe the term "victim" does not fit the Syrian people, I believe they deserve help from people like me whose only worries are studying for my next exam or contemplating what I want for lunch. As global citizens, we all need to figure out a way to help the people of Syria. No living breathing human being should have to endure such malice and persecution.

So instead of perpetuating the idea of Syrians as purely victims by only retweeting photos of crying children or dead bodies, let's also circulate images of the vitality and strength of these people. They deserve to be recognized as survivors, not victims.