The rain poured down as I ran from my Uber into the dry safety of Union Station. I wasn’t greeted with holiday wreaths or music, but instead by a K9 Patrol unit, garnished with a gun that rivaled my suitcase in size.

I looked at the officer, and at the dog, and continued on in my search for an edible sandwich for my train ride home.

As I continued to stroll deeper into the station I came across that officer’s counterparts, all equally as armed as the next. They stood still, and observed every face that crossed their path with precision and severity.

Suddenly I saw a sign that pointed me in the direction of the food court, and I followed suit.

I am a millennium baby, born into a world where heavily armed men in public places no longer phases me, because I know nothing else.

My generation was born during the middle of the crisis in the Middle East, watched as terrorist attacked our home on September 11^th, and witnessed the everlasting affects these incidents have had on our nation, and our world.

I am a college student in Washington D.C., and call the New York metropolitan area my home. As I boarded the train to go home for the weekend I settled into my normal window seat, and attempted to kill time by checking my email, waiting for our departure time to arrive.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something abnormal start to move past me. As I turned my head, I was face-to-face with a police dog, and his partner. They were making their rounds on the train as the announcer came on.

“Good afternoon, we have a seven car train today, and are expected to arrive at New York Penn Station at 6:56 this evening. For those of you who may have noticed, we do have a police officer and his partner traveling with us this evening for precaution. Should you need them they will be in the first car.”

From that point on I began to realize that every major station we pulled into, had armed police with K9 units searching the passengers before they boarded the trains.

Every year heading into the holiday season, as to be expected, New York’s security becomes amplified. Yet the recent attacks that have taken place around the world have made this year, unique.

The city is currently on the highest security alert since September 11^th, making the police more daunting and their presences even more widely felt.

All my life I have seen armed police in the subways, walking through Times Square, and perched randomly by Rockefeller Center.

In the past two years I have become accustomed to seeing armed Secret Service drive through my campus, while D.C. Police trail closely behind.

Since I was five I have understood what it meant to be “at war” and to loose your fellow Americans “at the hands of terrorists.”

Growing up in this generation has not been easy, but it has taught me the importance of valuing those around you, those serving, and the small moments you have with the ones you love.

I may not flinch anymore when I see an armed police officer, or when I read in the newspaper that another attack has taken place—but that doesn’t mean I’ve accepted what is happening. It’s just all I know.

And maybe that in itself is the scariest thing of all.