Nowadays, it almost seems like a rite of passage. The number of college students who go abroad during their junior and senior years is growing and study abroad is more popular now than ever.

Some students have waited their whole lives to visit that one place whose culture has always intrigued them while others have always wanted to see what life is like outside of America. And why shouldn’t we go? Life is too short to miss out on adventure, and the world is too big too just stay in one place. College is one of the only times during your life where you have the freedom and independence to leave everything behind and experience a new way of life.

You’re probably wondering why the world had to go and fall apart right before you’re about to leave. Well, to be fair, the world has always been a dangerous place. There has always been conflict of some sort going on in Europe or the Middle East in the modern era. Furthermore, the War on Terror has been going on since before many of us were even born. What is different about the present is that ISIS is attempting to use chaos and fear as a means to an end. I’m not completely sure what it is that ISIS is trying to accomplish other than instilling terror and committing acts of hatred and horrendous violence, but their methods are chaotic, reckless, and hate-fueled. The Isis terrorists have no problem crossing the line into the civilian world and they fight with unconventional tactics that are difficult if not impossible to predict and fight back against. It often seems like all we can do is wait for the terrorists to strike and then try to retaliate.

I think the uncertainty and the feeling of vulnerability that ISIS is creating is what scares most of us. The battlefield of the “War on Terror” has expanded to include the civilian sphere and it’s scary.

But that’s the point.

The only thing fueling terrorists is fear. If they can scare us and force us to shut down schools or stop events like the Boston Marathon, then they’re winning. If we feel nervous or suspicious of others at an airport, they are winning. Terrorism thrives on using chaos and violence to scare people and make us change our way of life. If we live in fear, we submit to them and they win.

These are all things I’ve heard before, and I agree. But it just seems different when you are about to leave home, get on a plane and fly solo into a strange new country. As I picture myself walking the streets of Europe among huge crowds in foreign places, I realize how small I am. Then I hear about American planes destined for Paris that are forced to turn around due to bomb threats and I think that could have been me.

But if I let terrorism confine me, then I am to blame for my own fear. I refuse to give in to terrorism and I refuse to let someone else make me live a life where I am always on edge.