On Sunday, students and faculty from California State University at Long Beach gathered to mourn the loss of the American killed in the Paris attacks Friday, Nov. 13. Nohemi Gonzalez was studying design for a semester abroad and was due to return to the United States next month. While the Paris attacks have sparked conversation on many controversial topics throughout the world, Gonzalez’s death has begun to make people wonder how safe it is for Americans to live and study abroad.

The attacks in Paris should not deter Americans from going out and seeing the world. If the events on Friday have taught us anything, it’s that we should remain strong in the face of terrorism and not develop the fear they want us to have. As multiple demonstrations around the world from the past few days have shown us, tragedies make the world even more connected and bring us together to help the people hurt out of the dark.

European soccer teams decided to play in their scheduled games as a sign that they would not not be scared into silence, and we should do the same. Americans should continue to travel, learn and study around the world to learn about other cultures and peoples. We should all continue to become closer to people outside the United States to show our solidarity to those that threaten it.

This isn’t the first time that terrorists have attacked a country where it will hurt and it sadly won’t be the last. But if we let them affect the quality of our lives or define who we are, we’ve let them win. As more information on the Paris attacks of Friday is revealed and France slowly gets back on their feet, remember that we are one, and there isn’t any way we can let a few horrible, supercilious people dictate whether we live in fear or not.