You’ve heard the phrases “trust your gut” and “follow your instincts.” Well, there’s a very good reason those phrases exist. They are 100% true! You should always listen to your instincts, especially when you get those feelings you just can’t describe. Something pushes you, urges you to either do something or not to do something. Listening to that powerful voice inside of you is usually a good decision. In fact, it might even save someone’s life.
Listen to your Gut.
One of the most powerful stories we’ve come across regarding listening to instincts happened in 2015. Although it was a few years ago, this story touched the lives of millions of people and even possibly saved one girl’s life. It is an exemplary argument for always following your instincts and listening to your gut.
On a spring afternoon in 2015, in Calgary, Canada, four teens were hanging out like they normally did. Arnaud Nimenya, Carsyn Wright, James Hielema, and Starlyn Rives-Perez were skateboarding in an underground parking garage at the Chinook Mall. It was there the four teens spotted a drunk girl being carried by a larger man.
“She was screaming and yelling. And she just wanted to be out of there. She was all scuffed up and dirty,” said one of the skateboarders, Carsyn Wright. “The guy was dressed in very nice clothes, and the girl was all dirty, she was crying, her nose was bleeding.”
The four teens spoke amongst themselves and agreed that something just wasn’t right. Thinking about how to best approach the situation, one of the teens asked the girl if she was okay. That’s when the man tried explaining he was trying to phone the girl’s dad. Other reports have stated that the man said he was the girl’s dad. Either way, the teens didn’t quite believe him, but they didn’t know what to do at that point.
“We didn’t know what was going on at first and we didn’t know whether to trust the guy,” Starlyn Rives-Perez told Metro News.
“You don’t want to really think of the worst in somebody like that. You don’t want that situation to be real, so you just brush it off and hope for the best,” Wright followed.
What Happened Next Earned them an Award
The next thing that happened, according to the teens is what really set off the alarms in their minds. The man took the young girl to the stairwell in the parking garage. The teens walked away for only a few minutes before deciding that they had to do something. The four of them walked in on the man sexually assaulting the young girl.
“He had her in a stairwell, bent over, and just, it was disgusting,” Wright said to CBC Canada.
Arnaud Nimenya was initially shocked. “You walk in, and you see something like that, and you freeze. You don’t know what to do.”
“He was trying to walk out and walk away from us,” said Nimenya. “He pushed me aggressively out of the way, kinda like just gives me the smile, like, ‘I can do this. You can’t do anything about it.’”
Not caring if it would get them into trouble, the four teens immediately ran in to stop the attack. Nimenya, Hielema, and Rives-Perez chased after the man, while Wright stayed behind to help the girl.
“You can’t just leave a girl and like she was young, 15 years old. She needed help and we needed to be there for her,” Carsyn Wright told Global News.
Three of the teens ended up getting into a physical confrontation with the sexual assailant. At one point, he grabbed one of the teen’s longboards and used it as a weapon against them. However, the three were not going to let the predator get away. Eventually, they got the better of him, and held him down until police arrived. Later, the man was charged with sexual assault.
Wright told CBC, “Instinct took over I guess, I saw someone that needed help and I just did everything I could to help her.”
Calgary Police Cheif Awards Teens
The Cheif’s Awards Gala takes place in Calgary, Canada every year. It’s where the “Calgary Police honor citizens who have made the city a better and safer place to live.” The four teens who stopped the sexual assault of that young girl were honored at the 2016 ceremony.
When police tried to contact one of the teens to inform them of the award, he was caught by surprise.
“We always thought we were going to be in trouble, because we fought with him. When they called us, we didn’t wanna answer,” Nimenya told CBC news.
“Calgary is a safe place to live but it doesn’t happen by itself, it’s safe because of the people that live here and the nature of wanting to help and wanting to look out for each other and that’s really a nice comment for such a big city,” Calgary Police Chief Roger Chaffin told 660 News.
Aren’t you glad these brave young people followed their instincts and listened to their gut? The world is a much better place with them in it, that’s for sure!
Sources
“Everyday Calgarians honoured for extraordinary deeds receive Chief’s Award.” Global News. Bindu Suri. June 3, 2016
“Skateboarders who stopped sex assault among Calgarians honoured for bravery at Chief’s Awards Gala.” CBC Canada. Tricia Lo. June 2, 2016.
“Courageous Calgarians recognized at CPS 2016 Chief’s Awards Gala.” 660 News. Jonathan Muma. June 3, 2016.
