It's a jungle out there

A lot of people are astonished when I tell them I'm from Pennsylvania.

"Like in the woods?"

Yes.

"Are there bears?"

Yes.

That's probably the biggest question I get. For some reason, it always shocks me. Bears don't. I've grown accustomed to seeing garbage strewn all over the lawn by a bear's effort to find food. I've seen bears run across the street while I'm driving or running through the woods while my friends are having a bonfire.

I'm not afraid of bears, I don't know why anyone would be. What people aren't afraid of that they should be are people.

In the concrete jungle of New York City, there are no bears to maul you, but that doesn't suggest you won't be mauled. There's always that person on the subway that sits a little too close or stares a little too much. There are thousands of people in the city as tourists every day, and on special events there's double plus many of the people who actually live here.

People should be scared of each other, not animals.

Bears won't bother you unless you give them reason to. Sadly, people aren't like that. They're rationality isn't always fully there and that's when they become more dangerous than animals.

Living in fear all the time isn't the way to go, though. People need to be able to ride in crowded subways and accept the fact that they're all doing the same thing; trying to live in an overpopulated jungle. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't always be alert.

Whether you're in the concrete jungle or the wilderness, the world will eat you up if you let it. But everyone should be open to the experience of both wild habitats and embrace them. It's the only way to live.