I was back in my hometown this weekend with my family when news of the ISIS attacks in Paris hit. I sat in my living room, jaw dropped and tears running down my face, as I watched the chaos ensuing on my television screen. The mounting violence in the Middle East that had seemed real but still far removed had finally hit close to home. I love Paris, it’s one of my favorite cities and I was anticipating my trips back next semester, as I’m set to live and study abroad in London for five months.
As I sat in my living room, the phone rang, and my Mom was on the other line: “Are you sure you still want to study abroad?” My roommate and best friend, who I am living with next semester abroad, texted me, “I’m scared.”
I was, and still am. My first thought after hearing the news was, "Oh, God, not Paris. Not Europe. I’m going abroad. Is it still safe to go? What is happening in this world, any why?"
And then I realized a few things. Instead of asking questions that would continue to go unanswered, because how can you expect answers out of irrational people like ISIS, I began to come to some conclusions. I’m no safer in London than I am living in DC, where I currently live and attend school, or even back home in Philadelphia. Any major metropolitan area could be a target. Any city. Any time. ISIS’ hatred makes basically anywhere I will be or live or vacation a target, because the cities, people, and countries are not made up of radical terrorists. All I can do is be smart, not travel alone, keep the local police information on speed dial in my phone, as well as the embassy and consulate when I’m abroad. I can’t let fear dictate my life.
On some small scale, it’s what ISIS wants. They want the fear of their persona to start governing people’s lives, for their horrific actions to cause cities, nations, the world, to break. They want to us to cower before their supposed might, for some young American to not study abroad for fear of another attack, for Paris and all of France to fall apart and weaken so they can be invaded and taken over. They want to cause whatever form of chaos they can. But, the same larger message that Paris and the French community showed to the world is the message I’m going to apply to myself. Be stronger, be resilient. Band together in the face of great evil instead of allowing it to cause even more chaos and upheaval in this world.
