A concert is a time when people gather together who all share the same love for music. People are tailgating, singing along and vibes are always good. Up until now.

On Monday May 22, a bomb was set off at a concert. An arena that was made for good and fun memories was attacked and is now remembered for the fear the concert goers felt. The fear of the people in attendance, the parents, the artist, and the staff of the arena. My heart goes out to each and every one of you. But, this cannot define us.

Fear is what they want. Fear is not what we will give them. I will not let my life revolve around fear of what could happen and what has happened. I will take precaution but, I will not give up my life and memories. Precaution is a great idea so the safety of others is protected. Concerts are made to let people distress. Concerts let people let go for a night. When you talk to many people and ask about their favorite memories a lot of them will say “I was at a concert and..”. We cannot give that up. We cannot give up on all those memories, because that is what they want. We can’t let anyone scare us out of the fun we deserve. Or scare artists out of doing what they love. Or scare people out of working for arena and venues. From what I see, events like these unite people. People around the world have reached out to victims, parents, concert goers and the artist.

Music is a form of love. Music is a way of speech. People bond over music. Two people could have nothing in common but a song and that song unites them. Concerts unite music lovers. Concerts are history. So much history can be found in music. We cannot let that go. What matters now, is how we respond. If we hide and give up concerts, we only hurt ourselves. We have to stand up and not let the fear keep us from fun. We cannot let the fear keep us from what we love.

I will not let them win. I will go to concerts. I will go to venues and arenas. I will make good memories and I will make those memories for the people who can’t.