We live in a scary world. A world where people are abducted, sex trafficking is real and crimes happen every day that are so dark they seem as if they should only be on a movie screen.

Horrible, unimaginable things happen every day to innocent people.

In a world so dangerous and unpredictable, it is important that we learn to protect ourselves. When I say we, I do mean everyone, but right now I'm going to focus on women. We are a very powerful group of people, but we are not always viewed that way. Women are often looked upon as the weaker sex, often making them the target for kidnappings, robberies, etc. The "bad guys" (not saying it's always guys) don't expect women to fight back, or at least not effectively.

That needs to change, like NOW.

Recently, I attended a self-defense seminar with my sorority, Sigma Alpha. I have always said I wanted to attend a class like this, but I just never got around to it, until my sorority offered it to us.

Best decision I've made in a while, and I will definitely be attending another. I highly suggest every woman attend a self-defense class, at least once, but preferably several times. In one class, I learned several techniques to fight off an attacker and got to practice on the people that worked at the Martial Arts studio.

I learned the most effective ways to quickly inflict pain on my attacker while causing the least pain to myself. I will be attending another class, because as our instructor pointed out, there is only so much you can learn in one hour. Your attacker could come at you in a number of different ways, and put you in a number of different situations. More classes are definitely needed to make those skills muscle memory and learn all the skills you need to effectively protect yourself.

I challenge everyone reading this post, especially women, to attend a class. At least one, just to give you some basic skills. You never truly know when something horrible could happen to you. Take the extra steps to be prepared, and give your attacker a run for their money. Do not ever go down without a fight. Obtaining these skills also gives you something extremely valuable in an intense situation: confidence. Having these skills will make you feel more empowered, and give you a better chance of not ever being a victim of senseless violence.

So go now. Find your nearest martial arts studio, gym, etc. that teaches these classes, and go. Bring your friends, sisters, daughters, mothers... bring everyone. Let's make sure everyone we know has a fighting chance.