“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” ~Vince Lombardi
Before I get into my story, I wanted to take a moment to go over my reasons for writing this series of blogs (5 total). First, it might seem a little out of place on a blog that focuses primarily on running. Then, all of a sudden switch gears to a series of tragic events, but trust me when I say that this is a running story.
Throughout the series, I will be sharing various images, videos, screenshots, etc., of the what, when, where, and how it all happened, and because this story isn’t about the “who” per se, I will blur faces and names. There are plenty of times over the last six years that I thought about writing these blogs to expose or to attempt to find some semblance of justice. And, yet, I have accepted that justice will probably never come and that harboring the resentment was only going to hurt myself and the people I care most about.
My story will not put the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department in a terribly great light. This does not mean that I am anti-law enforcement or that I would approve of anyone using my story as a reason to smear all law enforcement officers. On the contrary, I love and appreciate law enforcement in general and have come to believe that some cops just shouldn’t be wearing the badge.
I am writing these blogs because I found that my story is helping others come to terms with their pain and that the stories shared with me have helped me immensely. I am writing to encourage people in the middle of similar struggles to realize that you do not have to live life on your knees at the mercy of your pain. It might not be running for you. It might be something entirely different, but every step towards exploring your grief, anger, and even depression gets you closer to healing.
I was living my life on my knees waiting for the universe to do for me; I became frustrated watching social media blow up over every tiny injustice, someone writes something rude on a waitress’ receipt in Iowa, and I hear about it in California, really? Even my local newspaper that reports on some of the most ridiculous things completely ignored the story of one of their former columnists nearly being killed. It seemed like the more I talked about it, the more people just seemed to ignore me, which ultimately made me feel like I lived in a community that didn’t care about their neighbors.
Focusing on this type of negativity can drive a person crazy. But changing one’s focus away from this type of negativity is much easier said than done. And that is why I decided to put together these blogs. I want to show people that I came to a place where I could choose to change my focus and stop waiting for the universe to give me a reason to be positive. I chose to create my own path and my own reasons. You can too.
