In the city of Chicago, there is an ongoing battle to combat the violence that plagues the beautiful city. Unfortunately, on August 9, 2017, my life was drastically changed. A routine morning/afternoon turned violent. While gathering items from my car, I noticed a car drive past, but I didn’t think anything of it and continued with my task. Growing up in Chicago, you learn to always be aware of your surroundings. Not even a full 30 seconds before I looked up again, I noticed from my side mirror the car extremely close to mine, as if it was trying to parallel park. Suddenly, there was a hail of gunshots and a sharp pain in my side. I knew I was hit, but I just couldn’t move my legs to get out of the car. So I threw myself in the passenger seat; by that time, the drivers pulled off. Someone on the street called 911. They rushed me to the hospital and saved my life, all to later find out that the bullet was stuck in my spine, causing me to be a T6 paraplegic