Every so often on my Facebook timeline, I will see an article entitled something like, “We Need to Stop Coddling Today’s College Students,” or “College Crybabies: Why Today’s College Students are the Worst.” While I agree that I and my fellow college students whine on social media a little too often, I honestly believe college students today are anything but coddled because as we attend class every day, we live with the constant, nagging fear that our lives could be threatened at any moment.

Okay, maybe the whole “we constantly fear for our lives” thing is a tad dramatic, but hey, I’m a millennial, and drama is in my Ugg-wearing, Instagramming, attention-seeking blood. After 52 school shootings on American soil in 2015 alone, however, I think we have every right to feel every bit of fear. Because, at any moment, I could be sitting in class, and a maniac with a gun could walk in and decide to wreak havoc. If that’s not cause for fear, I don’t know what is.

You see, I am a student at the Catholic University of America, where in the course of 48 short hours this past week, we had not one, but two lockdowns due to the threat of an armed gunman on campus. Though the second lockdown ended up being a false alarm, and though thankfully no one was hurt, the fact remains that the suspect from the first lockdown is still at large. While the university received backlash for the way the administration communicated the details of both events, I have come to trust that the people in charge have the safety and best interest of the students in mind when they make decisions regarding campus security.

I am, however, still scared.

More so, I am frustrated. “It’s just a sad reality of the world we live in,” my parents and relatives all said to me as I spoke to them on the phone after all the chaos. “You have to do your best to stay safe and stay alert.”

“It’s the reality of the world today,” my friends and I would repeat to one another in class and in our dorms that week, hoping to find some kind of solace in a “reality” that feels more surreal than actual.

“We have to acknowledge that we live in an uncertain world. Given the nature of today’s society, we all need to be vigilant and mindful of our surroundings,” wrote President Garvey, the university president, in an email to students on December 8.

“Reality” is our key word when a threat to student safety becomes apparent like it did this past week at CUA. “Reality” has now become how we describe the completely random acts of violence that occur on university campuses and educational institutions almost weekly, where most students are just trying to take full advantage of their right to better their minds and their lives. School shootings have become the norm, and by accepting that they are part of the “reality” of today, we have accepted that it could happen to anyone on any college campus. As a society, by acknowledging this “reality,” we are essentially throwing our hands in the air and ridding ourselves of the situation. Until, however, it happens on your campus and becomes your reality. “Reality” is how we identify the nature of getting an education in America today.

If we are going to continue living in this reality, then I think it’s time to stop describing today’s college students as “coddled.” We are juggling classes, extra-curricular activities, our social lives, and the idea that in a split second, we could receive an automated text from the campus police ordering a Shelter in Place due to a “possible armed suspect on campus.” We have our coursework to be mindful of, but we also have to be mindful of our surroundings in the event that someone with a gun decides to use us as target practice for the afternoon. We are students, and we have to be diligent for the sake of our studies and the sake of our safety.

The morning after the second lockdown, I contemplated not going to class because I was still apprehensive about my safety on campus. I quickly brushed that apprehension aside, got dressed, and went to class like I would on any other Wednesday morning. Like any other Wednesday morning, a twinge of fear was still present in the back of my mind, and every time I heard a door open or footsteps down the hall, my heart would race and I would quickly plan an escape route in the event that I would need to run or hide for my life.

But, you see, this is the reality of being a student in America today, where learning to live in paranoia is just as prevalent as learning about proper paragraph structure.