About a year ago or so I made it to Paris, France, because I truly desired to study in such a magnificent city. My super united family was excited but super sad at the same moment because they knew they would have me super far away. None of us had ever been to Europe before, we had always stayed in America. For me, it was a dream coming true. I went through a harsh process in order to make it to Paris. I did a lot of fundraisings, I worked and did several activities in order to get the money to make it possible because we are not millionaires.
The thing that I liked the most at that time was that in my mind I only had that I would not be able to go to a university because here in the United States universities are super expensive and I could not afford it. Many times I thought about going back to my home country, Costa Rica, and study there that the education is free. On the other side, I was tired of being in America and I wanted something more exciting so I gave it my all and my best until I made it all the way to Paris.
I got to Paris and I was living a dream, I did not care if maybe I did not have the money to give myself a luxurious life or anything similar. All I cared about was enjoying the beauty of my surroundings and the fact that I actually made it to university and was studying. I have a passion for studying so for me it was a huge accomplishments. I knew all the contributions I had would run out quickly so I found myself a job as a babysitter in the beautiful city of Paris and I studied and worked almost every night. For me, sleeping was something unfamiliar, but again, I did not care because just walking in the streets of Paris brought peace and rest to my being.
The dream would have continued to be perfect until a terrorist attack happened in the "arrondissement" where I went to university, passed by every single day and was actually my hometown. My family all the way from America started to freak out; you see not only have we never had terrorist attacks in Costa Rica but in the United States we had never experienced anything similar. So, my mother would cry every night after the attack happened and all of my family was super worried of me staying there. I tried to convince them that the security in the city had increased and that I would be fine, but nothing would bring peace into their hearts. So one day while talking to my family I decided to actually come back to the United States to be with them because I, myself, was afraid that any of them would have a terrible medical condition due to stress or excessive worry ness. So, yes, indeed, I gave up my dream to bring peace to my family and until now I do not regret my decision. As soon as I agreed to coming back, my brother bought me a place ticket from one day to the other and I packed everything in one night to fly very early the next morning.
I got back to America and my family was so happy to have me close and just to see that I was still alive. They cried and they completely moved my heart. I felt the pain that it would have meant if I would have been one of the many casualties of those attacks. The worst of all is that the night that the attacks happened I was supposed to hang out at one of the targeted places with friends but I canceled it because I felt extremely tired and I had to do many things. Many close friends ended up injured or just being traumatized but fortunately, not dead.
So, it seems that since them it all started as a domino effect. The terrorist attacks in Turkey incremented, there was another attack in Nice, France recently, Bruxelles, Belgium, even in the United States two terrorist attacks happened already (San Bernardino and Florida), and the most recent was Munich, Germany. Even if in Germany it was not any of the terrorist groups, getting out in the street and killing many people is still considered terrorism. Also, I might be missing more places but these are the ones that almost everyone never thought that something like that would happen.
I, myself had to give up on a dream due to a terrorist attack and after the attack I have been very thoughtful and still a little shocked from the event. It is something that marked my life and the feelings of fear and pain of the moment will always be there. Many people after the attacks start to ask themselves the reasons for living, being part of this world and the meaning of life. My best advice is to stop, take the memories from the event and place them into the back of your mind and keep on going.
After the attacks, I came to the United States with the mind of one day going back to France. I just came to give peace to my family but my dream shall resume one day. I came back, worked at a warehouse and then finally found a more suitable job in which I can grow professionally and I still am employed at the same place. I have successfully made it to stabilized myself mentally and economically. At this point I feel as if I were a super hero that has been through a lot and at the end have become so strong that nothing can stop me. So, use those experiences to make yourself stronger.
I am currently working, I have finally enrolled into a community college here which is cheaper so that I can fulfill my desire to study; I am hoping to make it to a real university after two years of community college, but most important of all; I have set a very successful future in my head! I am saving money to make it back to France soon, regardless if the situation of terrorism has not been stabilized, at least I have already given peace to my family and they now know what consequences could come in the future.
So, this world have changed and I feel that many of us started to live in a state of fear and pain but I will tell you one thing, train your mind to take the fear and pain and convert it into pure strength that will guide you all the way until you complete your goals. Do not let down and be courageous!!
