On the morning of Wednesday, August 8, in the Pasadena area, a woman was punched in the face repeatedly while on her run, causing her to lose consciousness and then was dragged to a train track where she was then able to escape. 

She was discharged into a hospital and is said to be in stable conditions currently. A suspect was arrested on account of attempted murder and authorities have said that they are doing everything in their power to investigate and increase security. 

This incident occurred in the daytime in a public area. Yes, this is exactly the kind of thing you see on the news and exactly the kind of thing you could not fathom would ever occur to you.

The distance from Los Osos High School to Pasadena is only around 40 minutes (without traffic). The proximity of this crime is fairly close to where we all go to school. 

A sense of safety surrounds the area and outskirts of which we live, keeping our minds in a fog of security. However, this is just a false blanket of the reality we actually live in. 

The woman that was attacked in Pasadena, who thankfully escaped, was an unfortunate example of a wake up call for all women.

We live in a reality where women are constantly looking over their shoulder. Having fear of walking alone at night, being left alone with a man we do not know or trust, having to always be aware and careful. 

As unfortunate as it is, women must always be aware and be careful letting our guard down. Sometimes, however, we can get caught up in things or other thoughts and forget this mindset.

Us women deserve to feel safe. We deserve to feel comfortable enough to let our guard down. We deserve not to be on edge all the time. But we can not be oblivious. 

Living and going to school in an area where it is very safe can really consume our minds into being oblivious to the evil things that can happen to us or happen around us.

We must remind ourselves that we do not know the intentions of people we don’t know or know well. Sadly, the society we live in has normalized the unsafe environment women have to deal with.

Not having awareness and being unobservant can be very dangerous for women. If we make a certain decision, or are not mindful of who and what is around us, as sad as it is, our lives could be at risk. 

It is very unfortunate and disappointing that women have to live with this burden, but getting caught up in ignorance can cost everything.

The man that attacked that woman, should be arrested and brought to justice. Any man who attacks a woman for just simply existing deserves to be in jail. 

What happened to her and the proximity of the crime should be an eye opener that this can happen to anyone. It does not matter where you live or who you are, you must remain aware and cautious of the things you may have to endure.