Megan Hurley. Wendy Fawell. Ceilidh MacLeod. Chloe Rutherford. Liam Curry.
Before a few days ago, hearing these names would not have meant anything to me. Today, the names of these people have changed my entire perspective on life.
Sadly, we all read about terrorism and violence happening daily on the news. Whether an attack occurred somewhere local, in the Middle East, or in an occupied country, the reality is that these acts of aggression are unavoidable.
When I hear about these terror attacks, such as the one that happened last year at Pulse in Orlando, my heart breaks. I always read about the victims afterwards, and more often than not, I find connections with them. Whether they are a friend of a friend, remind me of someone, or even look like me, there is always something that makes me feel almost as if I knew them. When I read about the 22+ people who were murdered at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester last week, my heart had the same ache it felt and continues to feel whenever I hear about these attacks. However, this event hit me especially hard. My little sisters both love Ariana's music and grew up watching her on television. While she has not always been someone I looked up to, they looked up to her, and I valued that. Her character on television was always known as an innocent, quirky and happy girl who never stopped smiling. To think that such terror could occur at a place where she was making people happy, mostly young children like my sisters, hearing about the lives that were taken hit me especially hard.
In a week, I'm attending The Governors Ball Music Festival with one of my best friends. When I heard about what happened at Ariana's concert, a part of me felt guilty, and even a bit apprehensive to attend. Why should I go and enjoy myself at a time where these individuals lost their lives after doing so? However, after taking some time to think about what this concert means to me, and how I look up to many of the artists who are performing, I realized that the victims of the violence in Manchester were doing the same as I was. I connected with them, even though I never was lucky enough to meet them. I knew that when seeing Ariana, they were most likely filled with excitement, joy, and most importantly, happiness. Although they sadly had their lives taken away from them, they were happy in their last moments. This realization changed my entire perspective on living.
We should not avoid seeing concerts, going to festivals, or doing activities that we enjoy because of fear. We should not let the terrorists, the monsters, or the evil, win. Rather, it is imperative that we attend these events, make the most of our time there, and most importantly, become inspired.