On November 13, in one of the most beloved cities in the world, a series of attacks occurred in several locations where everyday citizens were enjoying the beginning of their weekend, many with their friends and family. One of the attacks involved suicide bombers trying to get into a soccer match at a large stadium where the President of France was watching the game. 

Luckily, they were stopped by security so there were not many people killed. Other shootings and bombings continued throughout the city with more innocent people killed or injured. However, the worst attack was at a concert hall where an American band was playing. Almost one hundred people were killed when the attackers entered the building and began shooting and throwing grenades. A terrorist group called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the gruesome acts.

This particular attack awoke people towards what was really happening in our world today, not just in France, but within other countries all the time. Thousands of miles away, I started seeing news stories showing the horror of these events.

While all the violence was hard to understand, the attack at the concert was very upsetting to me and other friends because so many of the people attacked were our age or close to our age. It’s hard to conceive how their families must feel when they thought their relatives were going to a harmless concert for fun and ended up being the target of some terrorist group from the Middle East. It seems like there is very little we can do and it is scary to wonder if something like that could happen here. Many people I know are showing their support for the people of France through posts and social media. There were various campaigns on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and many other platforms.

If anything good can come out of this, maybe it will be that more young people will realize that these things don’t just happen to people far away or soldiers. Maybe we will be that much more grateful for the life we have now and try to make the most of everyday. Maybe that’s what we can do now for the people of France.