Terrorism is a word that is becoming way too common in our society today. Innocent men, women, and children are dying all around the world due to groups of people that live to input fear and terror into the lives of the innocent. Being an American who is currently studying in Europe, the events that are happening are way too reminiscent of the tragic events of 9/11 in the U.S.

We have grown up living in a world of terrorism, I was in the first grade when the tragedy of 9/11 occurred. I remember just seeing my mom crying and watching the towers fall on the news and the streets of Manhattan erupted into chaos. The word "terrorism" instantly makes my skin crawl, so when my professor interrupted class during the middle of a midterm exam and said, "there was a terrorist attack at the Brussels airport", my hands immediately began to shake.

I was planning on traveling to Belgium for part of my spring break. I was supposed to fly into the same airport where the attacks occurred. Had this tragedy happened four days later and I could have been one of the people running for their lives out of the airport. Or one of the victims in the explosions in the subway.

When you are so close to where something so horrible happens, you have a different perspective on the events. There is no ocean to separate me, along with the other hundreds of thousands of American students studying abroad, from the attacks. We are right in the thick of it, along with the citizens and population of the cities in which these horrible things are happening. There is no running away from terrorism, because no one ever knows when or what is going to happen.

My heart aches for the people of Belgium and Turkey and the lives that were lost and destroyed and now the fear that the residents of these places feel, along with the ripple effect that has spread throughout the world. It is a weird feeling, fear, sometimes you don't really understand why your stomach starts turning into knots and why your hands get so clammy, and you can seem to get them to stop being sweaty. Fear is the single worse emotion that one can feel. It can consume you and destroy your life if you let it. And the goal of these attacks that have been happening is to cause fear and panic in the population, to make people be constantly scared.

During my time studying here in Europe I have learned a lot. But, in the wake of the attacks in Turkey and in Belgium I have learned the single biggest lesson of my life. And that is, in a world full of darkness and violence, we must remain compassionate and live without fear.

We have become a society that lacks compassion. These terrorist groups that are so set on causing chaos and murder, they don't have an inkling of compassion. And without compassion we have nothing, we lose our humanity. We have to remain a species that is composed of compassion and love, because if we lose that, then we are no better than them.

We also can not choose to live in fear. Choosing to feel fear is letting them win, it is giving terrorist organizations the upper hand to beat us down and destroy us. These attacks are not on a single group or place, but an attack on western culture as a whole. No matter the nationality, race, or religion, it is important to encourage, uplift, and support the countries and people that are affected.

So, this is the moral of this story. Be knowledgeable about what is going on in the world, the good the bad and the ugly. Know that the attacks in Belgium are just as important and horrible as the attacks that occurred in Turkey. Be full of overwhelming compassion, kindness, and support of those affected by these tragedies. And most importantly, do not fear, there are way too many beautiful things in this world to be joyful about.