As I was getting ready to travel to France, Belgium and the Netherlands for two weeks, everyone kept asking me, "Aren't you scared?" My response was always, "What am I supposed to be scared of?" I'm not oblivious to the news; ask anyone who's lived with me, I watch "The Today Show" religiously every morning. I know how our world looks: civilians getting run down by a truck in Nice, a military coup in Turkey, travelers getting bombed at airports, young people gunned down in a nightclub, religious people terrorized by radicals during Ramadan and so much more. I'd be kidding myself if I didn't admit it's a scary world we live in today.

But I'm not afraid to fly. I'm not afraid to go see the world. I'm not afraid. Anytime I spoke to anyone about the trip I was going on, they gave me tips on how to make sure it's safe, told me to stay away from crowded places, etc. I had to remind them that the Pulse nightclub shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in America, happened two hours from my home. So why do I need to be scared to travel? Why? So I can give evil people what they want? I'm not an idiot; I know to pay attention to my surroundings. But why would I live my life playing it safe? They want fear, they want to induce panic, they want the world to be afraid of them. So why give them what they want? Why give in?

I returned from my trip a few weeks ago, safe, unharmed and dying to go back as soon as possible. It was such an amazing experience that I've considered going to a school in Europe to get my graduate degree. I got to watch a Euro Cup game, France versus Switzerland, underneath the Eiffel tower with thousands of other French fans. If I had let fear win, I never would've been able to see the other side of the world. I never would've been able to meet some incredible people. I never would've learned how much better beer tastes over there, and I never would've experienced the trip of a lifetime. Living in fear is not living at all.

I know bad things happen, and I know there are very evil people in our world. But I'm not afraid to fly. I'm not afraid to live. I'm not afraid because I know if it is my time to go and leave this Earth, (I do believe that that's in God's hands, not my own...) I will go knowing I lived one hell of a life.