In all honesty, traveling in Europe during this political climate is not easy. In the past two months the UK has seen three terrorist attacks, some just blocks away from where my friends live. I purchased a ticket to London just days before the most recent attack, and still have to decide if I am going or not.

I asked my coworkers what they thought of the religious climate right now and they feel exactly the same way. They said that the Third World War has started, and the nature of the battles is these small bouts of terror. One of my coworkers is from Cairo, Egypt and she told me that just two weeks ago, two buses of children were killed on their way to the museum over religious dispute.

Yesterday at work I received a phone call that there was an attempted assailant at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Luckily, since last years attacks in Paris, the French government has amplified security and they were able to stop him before he hurt anyone. I travelled to Paris because I wanted to experience a diverse work environment, and this still remains true. I had previously studied in Nantes, France and I wanted to see how drastic of a difference the Parisian lifestyle was. It is true that Paris is a much larger target for violent groups than Nantes, but this still did not stop me.

Despite all this negativity, fear, and violence, I do not feel that that should stop one from traveling. As we have seen, the attacks are impossible to foresee. I think as a young traveller, we cannot let fear hold us back from experiencing and doing the things we love. Now more than ever, we need to be strong. It is necessary to spread love, awareness, and to always be on guard and not put ourselves in poor or dangerous situations.

RIP to all the victims of the recent attacks.

Brooke