I run.

It’s just who I am.

Whenever things get tough, I bail. Every new situation I find myself in, I have an exit strategy. Because I know what could happen if I don’t.

Things are about to get bad, and I don’t understand how or why. I’m in a new place, with no pre-existing connections. I’ve developed a life for myself where no one could suspect a thing out of the ordinary. I fit in - or at least try to. But here I am, ready to run.

Let’s just hope I do so in time.

***
I didn’t ask to be in these shoes. In fact, I was thoroughly looking forward to a life of little more than personal responsibility. I never saw my future tied to this place, no matter how much this place is a part of me. The position was thrust upon me, though, and with no one else left to step up, I had no choice. At the end of the day, I do love it here. These are my people - my family - and this is my home. I couldn’t turn my back, even if I wanted to. That’s a type of betrayal I would never be able to stomach.

If things had gone how they were supposed to, none of this would have fallen in my lap. Now that we’ve made it through the adjustment of transition of power and the trials and errors that come with it, I am happy this is how my life has ended up, and my people are, too. Any semblance of my plans years ago have fallen by the wayside, but that’s just the nature of the beast - and I am the beast.

Times are changing. I can feel it in my bones. I just hope we are ready, and I am capable of protecting those that are relying on me.