I am, by no means, an expert on this.

But I want to talk a little bit about Paris (and Beirut, for that matter).

It is exhausting living in a world where the news of majors attacks, like the ones in Paris and Beirut, anger me and frustrate me but do not surprise me. If it had been the first time, sure, I'd be surprised. But suicide bombings happen all the time in the Middle East. And a multiple-location attack on a city happened before in Mumbai, in 2008.

I'm not surprised by either anymore. I've become desensitized. But I am frustrated. And I am tired. Crime is down in the world. People are wealthier and living longer.

But there is senseless violence in this world. There are people who will use violence in the name of religion, but solely for the furtherance of their own purposes and goals.

It's tiring. I feel like a person can only cry so much, you know? Every time I checked my Twitter on Friday, I saw the death count increase. By the time it broke 100, I didn't have any tears left, or much energy left to feel much of anything.

When I heard about what happened in Beirut the day before, it was hard to not feel overwhelmed.

But I refuse to give in to that feeling. I refuse to stop thinking and whole-heartedly believing that we also live in a world that is good.

This world is hurting, all over. But there is also a lot of good. People contribute to charities that bring aid to where it's needed. People volunteer. People do, believe it or not, still talk to each other.

If you go on a hike, or a walk, or even just step outside and feel the sunshine, it's hard to dwell on the negative. This is a wonderfully diverse and beautiful world. There are good people to meet and to love and there are incredible things to see and do.

You know why the media doesn't focus more on good news?

Because it's ordinary. People volunteer in soup kitchens and pay for strangers' coffee and donate to charities all the time. Doctors travel to impoverished nations all the time. Good news isn't news, and I find that incredibly comforting. We're used to the good, so we don't need to hear about it in the media all the time.

I'm glad we don't live in a world where every charitable donation or volunteer going abroad makes the evening news. That'd be a scary world, because those things would be so rare.

We don't live in a scary world. We live in an amazing place where we can work together to make everyone's lives better.

أنا بيروت

Je suis Paris.