Long post alert!!!

Long post alert!!!

I was a scared 19 year old kid moving to Polk County, Fl to enter the Police Academy. I had no idea what I was doing or how I was going to survive the craziness that was ahead of me but then I met Tony.

Tony saw me on my first day and realized I didn’t even know how to tuck in my shirt properly. He jumped in immediately to help. He guided me for seven months, because that’s what was natural for him. Through my time with Tony he taught the most important lesson in my life…

We walked into a bar and many ladies made their way to Tony and nobody wanted to talk to me. I asked him what he was doing??? Here’s the lesson:

“I walk in this mofo like I own it! I look every mofo in the eyes and let them know that I am there. YOU walk in with your head down and look like you’re afraid to be there. You’re too big of a mofo to look scared. If you walk into a scene like that as a cop you’re gonna get someone killed.”

Oh wow. This rattled me. I had no idea that the way I walked and the way I looked would have an impact on me. At the beginning I needed to fake the confidence because I wasn’t truly confident, but the results were amazing. So much so that I started to feel truly confident.

At one of the lowest points in my life with no money or direction, I got a tattoo to represent confidence on my back. It was to remind myself everyday to walk and act like Tony. This was the foundation of turning things around.

We graduated the Police Academy in 1997. In case you don’t remember there was no social media. So Tony and I never reconnected. He didn’t have social media for a long time, but as his lessons continued to impact my life, I was determined to find him. I searched his name on Facebook and google every six months until one day… there he was!

It’s been years since we reconnected, but last night was our first time seeing each other since the day I drove away from Winterhaven, Fl in 1997. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Well, it was an amazing time with an old friend. Two men who had very different paths since our time together, but so many similarities as well.

I know this was a long post, but if you made it this far I hope you stand up a little taller today. I hope you realize that the energy you bring to a room matters. I hope you realize that even when you don’t realize it, you are impacting others.

Tony had no idea that the dumb 19 year old in the police academy was believing all the BS he was spewing. He had no idea that the BS he was spewing was becoming the foundation for my life. (BS was his term, I thought it was genius)

I am so grateful that today he knows all of those things, plus he knows how thankful I am for him and the care he showed that dumb kid. I am so looking forward to our next time together.

#Thankful #appreciation #Mentor #ThankYou #police #Career