It’s terrifying to live in a world where fear is surrounding our every move.

On May 22, there was a suicide bombing in the Manchester Arena that had injured 59 people and killed 22 of them. The part that devastated most people was that this occurred after an Ariana Grande concert. This suicide bomber was not targeting an arena full of adults, but he had the full intention of hurting children and teenagers. A suicide bombing is never seen in a good light, but when headlines and pictures surface of an eight-year-old girl who passed away because of it, there is more devastation and anger.

The point of this article is not to bring light or give any more attention to what this bomber had succeeded in doing, but it’s targeted more towards the fear that surrounds us at all times of the day. Going to a concert and seeing one of your favorite artists is an experience that is indescribable because of the happiness you feel before, during, and after it is done. The people that had attended Ariana Grande’s concert that night must have had the same happiness, but unfortunately fear was the last emotion that they had felt.

It could have been any one of us being part of our favorite artist’s concert. We could have been in their place and someone could have been writing multiple headline stories about us. But, besides shedding light on this devastating situation, what do these articles truly succeed in?

I’m scared to admit that nothing really comes out of these writing pieces because if another potential terrorist were to see these articles, he would consider this a successful mission. We live in a world where people find these type of actions successful or just simply jot it down as another devastation that occurred in 2017.

We can’t allow these people to win and stop our own lives because of the fear they are trying to bestow on us. Nicki Minaj was questioned on TMZ about whether she would be continuing her tour in Manchester and she stated perfectly, “We cannot let them win. The people of Manchester need me right now.” Fear is all of these terrorist’s endgame because once they have accomplished that, they own a part of you.

It sounds odd to think about (a terrorist owning a part of you), but actually, think about it. If we’re scared to go to a concert or to go into a populated city because of the fear of a terrorist attack, then we stop our own lives. We would be trying to protect ourselves from getting injured or killed, but we wouldn’t be ourselves. Through all these previous terrorist attacks, they have successfully instilled fear in living life to the fullest.

Don’t let them win.

Unfortunately, it is obviously not possible to live in a completely peaceful world or to capture all potential terrorists before these horrific actions take place. But, don’t let the fear you hold after you read about all of these devastations stop you from living your own experiences. We can’t let evil win.