On Friday November 13th, I woke up like it was any other Friday. I left my dorm room at 8:10 for my 8:30, stopped by 'Holy Ground's' for a caramel iced coffee; and then went to class. I sat through my 50-minute business dynamics class, and when it was over, I hung around the lounge in the student center doing work and figuring out weekend plans. At 1:30, I went to my Spanish class. After Spanish, I walked back to my dorm room with a smile on my face, knowing that basketball season and Villanova's home opener was that night. When I got back to my dorm, I climbed into bed and messed around on my phone for a little bit before falling asleep and taking a nap. I woke up three hours later and checked my phone only to see that the entire world had changed in a matter of only a few hours-it didn't seem quite so safe and secure as it was earlier in the day.

As I began reading news stories from around the world, I learned that on this day Friday the 13th, a 22 year old woman woke up in Paris just like me. I imagined she probably got her morning coffee like me; went to work or maybe class or maybe just stayed in her home watching TV and relaxing. She probably went through her day thinking about how excited she was that her and her boyfriend would be spending the night together at a concert in Paris. She probably got some dinner before the concert and then made her way over to the concert venue. Horribly, in a matter of a few hours she was laying in the blood of 89 dead victims, pretending to be dead in order to just have the chance at living.

As I read other stories on Friday the 13th, I learned of a family woke up in Baghdad and prepared to mourn the loss of their loved one. They sat for their morning coffee or tea, dressed in all black and left for the funeral. Again horribly, in a matter of few hours, they weren't only mourning the loss of their loved one, they were mourning the loss of at least 18 other people who were slaughtered in a yet another terrorist attack.

Then again, as I followed the news further, I learned of another terrorist attack a day earlier in Beirut. On Thursday November 12th, Adel Temos woke up, dressed for the day and sat and ate with his wife and his six year old daughter and 2 year old son. He bid his wife and children goodbye, and then headed off to work or into town to take care of a few things. He spent his day out of the house and around early evening, he decided to stop for a cup a coffee. Just a few minutes later, he found himself tackling a suicide bomber who was about to explode a mosque with over 200 people inside-he was successful in saving many lives. However, elsewhere in Beirut, the terrorists did not fail with their attacks, killing 43 innocent people.

These aren't the only stories that demonstrate the monstrous terrorist attacks that took place in one 24- hour period at the hands of one terrorist group by the name of ISIS. Over 247 people were killed between the three attacks, over 630 people were badly injured and thousands more lived through what many are calling some of the most horrific attacks on humanity since our own nightmare back on 9/11

We've spent the last week analyzing what happened, posting social media images with the hashtag #prayforparis; we've changed our Facebook pictures to show the French Flags; we've changed our cover photos to show support for the many people attacked; we've even shared articles about the people who died and we've thought about ways to help. On the other hand, we've also argued over what to do next, why the lost lives in Paris have gotten more attention than the ones lost in Baghdad or Lebanon. We've also fretted over whether or not the most recent threats on our Nations Capital and New York are real and whether or not ISIS will succeed in carrying out their terrorist plans. I hear people arguing about it over dinner, and voicing their own opinions in heated discussions over a topic when all the anger should be directed at one group committing these atrocities-ISIS. This isn't the time or place for it though. We shouldn't be arguing over why the attacks on one country are getting more media coverage than another, whether or not it was okay for France to bomb ISIS territories less than a week after the terrorist attacks is the road to peace and security it seeks. Instead, we should still be thinking about the thousands of people who were affected. And we should remember why we were changing our pictures, why we were posting on social media, why were constantly watching the news. We shouldn't lose sight of why we were doing it and for whom. As we return to our everyday lives, we must realize we can no longer be so complacent, but we can't fall towards hatred and fear. We should always keep in our thoughts and prayers not only those whose lives have already been lost but those who are risking their lives battling terrorism.

It was just a little over a month ago when college campuses across the country, including our own, felt the very real threat and fear that comes with threats of an act of terror. Now, its only a week and a few days since the entire world, not just our campus, has changed for us all. We've crossed a line and we won't be able to go back. The lives lost; the families affected, the buildings destroyed have left their mark on all of us and nothing will ever be the same. No matter how many buildings are rebuilt and how many negotiations are made in attempts to keep the peace, nothing will be like it was before these infamous days. We should remember that; keep the people who are still suffering in our thoughts and prayers, and when the countries do interact in a way that will most likely be violent, please try to remember what they're fighting for, and why they're fighting. It isn't about the land, or the money, or the power. They're fighting for the people that lost more than just their lives and loved ones that day. They're fighting and praying for their safety, for hope, for their livelihood and their freedom of all people, and in a very real way, we are fighting for a return to safety in a world filled more and more with horrifying acts of these terrorists.

So as we continue on our days, rooting for our basketball team, hoping that we make it through the last few weeks of the semester and hoping that the upcoming one brings even more good memories and good laughs than the last, remember the victims of these vicious acts. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers and remember why we're mourning them. Remember those in the front lines battling terrorism and pray for them too.. And maybe that way, somehow in the near future someplace on this planet will be safe and the world can wake up knowing that no one will be attacked and nothing will be destroyed that day.