The generation of students at this university was alive when this current reign of terror began. On Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. experienced multiple terrorist attacks that would take captive the minds of citizens. Fear has recently become a ruler of the lives of many people throughout the world.
I remember vaguely what happened on Sept. 11. I was in class at an elementary school where my mom taught. She rushed to the rooms where my brother and I were, and she held us tightly. We rushed home where my dad was. We held many candlelit prayer vigils at church and spent time cherishing our family. My brother and I were unaware at the time of what was happening, but we would soon discover the devastating power that fear can have over people.
I grew up in a very military-oriented area located about two hours from Washington D.C. Ten years later, even as a teenager, the sounds of aircraft flying overhead would send a tingle up my spine as a silent reminder of how fragile security is.
Stories of school and university shootings, such as the one at the University of South Carolina; bomb threats, such as at College of Charleston; and other horrific events have become something to which people are accustomed. Being at a university while all of this has happened at other universities in the state places the threat and the fear closer to home.
On an international level, conflicts in Ukraine and Russia have been covered daily in the news. Talk of a ceasefire that never actually stopped the fighting between the two countries was constantly in the news after Feb. 15 when the treaty was signed. There seems to be little hope that the two nations will end their warring any time soon.
One of the more terrifying groups that comes to mind is the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Daily, readers and viewers are bombarded with videos of people being set on fire, beheaded and tortured by this extremist group. Kayla Mueller, a young woman in her 20s from Arizona, was killed by ISIS while doing humanitarian work overseas.
It is terrifying to have grown up in a world that has events such as these as commonplace as they are. Being afraid of an airplane as it flies overhead is no way to grow up. The generation of twenty-something’s that is growing up and becoming adults is one that has lived with darkness looming overhead.
What can be said about growing up in a world victimized by terror? Sometimes it is hard to see the good in the world when all that is broadcasted on the news is just the opposite. One of the best things that I’ve found to do when I am upset is to band together with the people that I know will support me. Having a close-knit circle of friends encourages me and reminds me that there are good people in the world. I also frequently remember what I have been blessed with. My health, my family and my education are all things that I consider myself lucky to have. Whenever I am concerned about the state of the world, I remember the positive things that surround me, and I am less afraid of the future. I do not want to live my life in fear. No ibe should have the power to dictate how lives are lived. So I count my blessings, and I go through each day striving to see the best in the world.
