We are all scared of something; whether it is a fear of heights,

commitment or spiders we all have our Achilles Heel. On Sunday, August

28th my worst nightmare came to life. Like most college students, we all

visit home - I was going home for my friend's Bachelorette

Party. The weekend was blissful and relaxing. I showed up to the airport

for my flight back to Tucson with little care or thought other than

what show I would watch when I got in that night.

I breezed through security with my small three bags and went to

sit in the waiting area. I pulled out my iPad - synced it to the LAX wifi

and started a movie. I figured I had 30 minutes before boarding wanting

to relax and enjoy the flight. After 12:56 had passed of "Focus," I heard a

scream. I glanced over my shoulder and saw it - swarms of people were

flooding the walk ways. No one was sitting anymore, everyone was running

towards an exit.

My mind went into overdrive, there is no way to truly prepare

for something like this. Not knowing what my alternatives, were I dove

under the seats waiting for someone to tell me what to do. It was then I

realized that there was no one. I had no family, no friends, no

professors there, I was alone. It was my job to make sure that I made it

back to my family after all this was done.

I looked to my right and saw a man that was my mom's age next to

me. I asked him what had happened, he didn't know what happened, but

knew it was bad. From the look on his face, I could tell we both

knew that we were sitting ducks. The terminal was almost empty. From the

200 people that previously occupied the area, we were maybe two of 20

people left.

Without looking or thinking, I pulled him by the arm and ran. I

saw the closest exit and ran for it leaving all my belongings behind.

Running down the stairs, there was only one person I could imagine

talking to in a time like this, my mom. Reaching for my pocket I grabbed

my phone and dialed her number frantically. I was met with equally as

frantic tears and cries. Neither of us knew what to do and neither of us

wanted to admit that to the other. Trying to stay strong, I told her I

was ok and I was going to find someone to stay with.

The second I got off the phone, I ran to a group of people and

cried, "My name is Lexi, I am 19, I go to the UA, I am alone, please

help me." Never before have I felt so much love and friendship from a

group of strangers. They invited me into their Ultimate Frisbee family

as if I was one of their teammates. After updates from my friends and

family and an hour of waiting on the tarmac we were rescanned, while

bomb sniffing dogs searched through the terminal and allowed to board

our flights.

Most people would probably use this as a time to rant and rave

about the state our world is in - how we need to fix the corruption that

we are currently experiencing and put an end to terrorism. Yes, all of

this is a huge problem and very true - we need to find a way to protect

ourselves from all the horrible people that are out there, but we also

need to show love and friendship when others are in need.

It is paramount in these situations to remember you are not

alone and everyone reacts to these situations differently. Some

cry, some scream, some giggle and some never will want to fly again.

These are all acceptable ways to grieve, thankfully it was a false alarm

and no one was injured; however, I don't think that would have changed

the way people were. You could feel the tension in the airport and everyone

was on edge, but people were helpful and looking out for each

other.

Thankfully I met the nicest woman named Lorie, she acted like a

mom. Allowing me to charge my phone, staying with me as long as she

could to help find my bags and even buying snacks while we waited for

our flight. It is acts like this that make me still believe that there

is hope for our society. It just takes one small act to remind someone

exactly why they are here. I believe that we are all here for a reason,

and tonight could have gone a lot worse in many regards, but it didn't.

He did not want to take any of us out of this world tonight. Maybe this

was a warning, maybe it was a test, maybe it was to make people think

and realize what kind of world we are living in. Maybe it even made

someone "wake up" and change the way they handle their life.

Tonight is not going to make me never fly again, I will not be

scared to vacation with my family and I won't be scared to go to a mall

for my holiday shopping. Unfortunately, this is the kind of world we

live in now, it's scary and real. You don't think it is going to happen

to you until it does and you are lying under and airport bench trying to

figure out if you can be seen. For this reason I hope everyone

will take this seriously. Be aware of your surroundings, sit next to

an exit or an aisle. Always think ahead and don't underestimate what

someone is capable of.

I pray that the world will reset, that terrorism will not make

people shy away from adventure and living their life. I pray that one

day we will all be able to understand that we all need to support and

love one another no matter what their situation. I hope everyone stays

safe in the madness and remembers to show love in times like these.