The Importance of Self-defense by Alexis

The Importance of Self-defense by Alexis - September 2019 Scholarship Essay

A Self-defense club! The world is a dangerous place. We are constantly hearing about young adults both in high school and college who have gone missing and been found dead. This year I am a senior in high school, and my biggest concern about going to college is safety. If my high school offered a self-defense club I would be better equipped for the future.
After graduation I plan on moving out of my hometown and living on-campus at Texas A&M University. Although I am aware there is a low crime rate in College Station, Texas, I am still concerned with my safety and ability to defend myself. In my family, I am the second youngest of nine, and the youngest girl. I have been protected and sheltered by every member of my family. My older siblings and parents are constantly warning me about the “real” world. They send me articles and posts about girls being kidnapped, murdered, and raped now more often in broad daylight. Their intentions are to keep me updated and cautious, and in this they have succeeded. I very rarely go anywhere by myself, including outside my own apartment complex. I might be overly cautious but as the saying goes, better to be safe than sorry.
There are times I feel trapped and like I’m being suffocated. I am a very independent person, for example the thought of not being able to simply go running at seven in the morning on my own aggravates me. My brother and I had actually argued over this recently. Of course he ultimately won but my argument was one of the classic teenage exclamations, “I never get to go anywhere!” I meant I feel I cannot go anywhere I want because anytime I go to a place by myself I feel like I am putting my welfare at risk. I knew this but the irrational angry side of me persisted arguing that I should be able to go anyplace. My brother immediately responded, his reasoning was that I do not know how to protect myself, and that if a group of men were to approach me, or even one man, my attempts to escape would be ineffectual. To this I had no rebuttal, I knew he was right, and while it may seem unfair that I am as restricted as I am it is for good reason.
While on my visit at A&M College Station I was ecstatic seeing everyone riding around on their bikes and walking so freely. I wondered how they could be so carefree, every time I go somewhere on my own I am always looking over my shoulder hoping that the person behind me passes me up. If my school provided a self defense class I along with the majority of my peers would take it without a second thought. This club would be open to all grade levels in high school. Teenagers especially need to know how to protect themselves. In highschool we have students walking everywhere including home. If we were to learn how to respond to a threat then we would not only be prepared in school and college where you hear about a lot of rape and abuse cases, but also in life. There was recently a news report discussing the strategy of a group of kidnappers, their plan is to tie zip ties around a car's rear view mirror so that when the owner would see the tie they would be too distracted trying to remove it that they don't notice someone coming up from behind them.
I have spoken to some of my friends about this and they agree that if they had the opportunity to learn self-defense they would without hesitation. The main reason we have not taken it upon ourselves to learn on our own is that we lack the resources required such as transportation, and because for students whose parents who work late and cannot spare the money, it is very inconvenient. If it was a school extracurricular activity it would be accessible, affordable, and we would be in a comfortable environment with our own age group. Students should be as prepared as possible when leaving high school, because when they leave for college most of them will no longer have the familiarity of surroundings and family to keep them safe.