Last week was tense as far as international relations go. We're standing in a big puddle of gasoline and hoping that no one decides to light a cigarette because if they do, we'll all go up in flames. For some background, here's the information I gathered on the conflict between the US and Syria, along with the ties to Russia.

When there are missiles involved and talk of sending over ground troops, it isn't a stretch of the imagination to believe that the current proxy war between the United States and Russia could turn into the real deal: World War III.

How would you even begin to prep for this?

If the conflict never reached American soil, there would still be dramatic changes in the way we live right now. Not only would the threat of violence be hanging over our heads – when will an attack happen and will my area be targeted? – but there would be serious economic and supply ramifications.

Preparing for this could be a book in and of itself, so I'm breaking this into two parts.

In the first installment, I'll share some insights garnered from the readers. Next time around, we'll discuss the preparations you need to begin making right away.

I had a chat with readers to discuss what they foresaw as the most likely concerns should these tensions escalate into a full-blown world war. Some of the comments are from people who recall living through a war, while others are educated suppositions from people with military backgrounds. Still others are stories passed down from parents and grandparents.

I asked these questions:

If World War 3 were to break out, how do you believe it would affect the average American?

What challenges do you think we would face here at home?

What shortages do you predict would occur?

How would you prep for this?

One principle that everyone seems to agree on is that we'll be living very differently from our current luxurious, everything-on-demand lifestyles. It will be a dramatic change for many people, especially those who have never produced anything physical, like food, clothing, or other items. The government won't be in a position to help those who can't help themselves, and  this could hit younger people particularly hard.