Today is Day 18. My alarm was set for 4:22 but I've really been awake for two hours already, just laying in bed with thoughts swirling in my mind. Why? Around 2:20 AM, my brother and I were awakened to the sounds of a woman arguing with her boyfriend, or some male figure. They were our neighbors. I had never met them before, although I've seen a male figure leave their room before with a kid. I'm not too sure who he was as we have never had an introduction. Regardless, the argument about god-knows what with f-bombs here and there quickly escalated and turned physical as she said she was going to call the police. This quickly followed with, "Get off of me!" multiple times with the male responding one of the times, "What are you going to do about it?!" My brother and I recorded part of their argument on our phones just in case it was needed. Words screamed of, "I hate you!" echoed through our wall and sounds of a physical struggle and/or fight seemed to going on in there. These were sounds you would expect when there are two people rough-housing in a somewhat run-down apartment complex with walls vibrating, floors creaking audibly, and stomping going on. It's not the best description of the sounds of a physical fight, I know. But it got to the point after a couple minutes of me hoping it would de-escalate by itself, to the point that I knew that this was out of hand and knew I needed to take action. I needed to call the police. I had never done this before and it was early in the morning with an exam at noon today. I was nervous. I could feel the adrenaline going through my body, but I knew whatever was going on over there needed to cease immediately for their safety and well-being. My brother wisely began recording their conversation with his phone. We quickly put some clothes on and I headed down stairs quietly and dialed 911. The novelty of the situation was completely new to me but I quickly informed the dispatcher what I heard and the urgency of the situation. Funny thing is, when she asked for the address, it was not until very recent that I was just thinking and wanting to figure out the cross-street from where we were living. I know, how could I not have known for sure before, but I am not aware of the things around me unless I need to know them. I know, not a good reason. I'll take note here that from now on, I need to be more aware of the information that may be pertinent to me and not just information that is, currently pertinent to me. I normally do not stay at this apartment for a decent portion of the week, just in my weak defense. After the call and the dispatcher informed me that the police were already on their way, my mind was racing. Perhaps the novelty of the situation scared me and I was wondering of my own safety, after-all, I do not know if this individual is crazy. I have no martial arts training. I have no experiences in domestic disturbances. Yet I was questioning myself as what I would do and how I would react if I were the police officer, the strong personality that I would need to have, to go in there.
The officer arrived no more than 40 seconds later after the call. I told him what was going on, and let him into the building. From there he went to handle the situation. I tried to hear what I could from my apartment room next door but was more or less muffled and incomprehensible. The officer came back to me and informed me that it was just a drunken couple fighting and throwing things around. Great I guess. Another reason not to get drunk. The situation was over, as I did not hear another peep out of them for the rest of the night- Amazing right? -, but my mind was still racing and thinking about what had just happened and how I did throughout this. After thinking about it, I know I want to develop a stronger, more confident personality when it comes to dealing with people who may be angry and irrational. I would like to be able to de-escalate situations instead of shying away from them, like I felt I would have. Learning a form of martial arts, perhaps Wing Tsun/Chun in the future as well, will give me more confidence to know I can better handle myself should a situation like this occur in my life again. I want to be strong, a difference maker, and although I know it's not my place to go play the police's role, I would like to feel more proud of myself of my mental strength and attitude should I be in a situation like that. I do feel proud of myself for doing the right thing, getting help. Of course it wasn't a choice that I really could deny. Regardless though, I should still be proud of myself and my brother for the way we responded.
Nurses are mandated reporters for any form of abuse. For me to shy away and just hope this situation would resolve by itself would have severely compromised my own values and beliefs about myself.
Well only four hours of sleep, but I'm up to do my final review for my exam today.
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