I've spent the last 3 weeks reading pages upon pages of this thread and haven't skipped a single post all the while.
I'm absolutely amazed at what some of you have lived through, from getting shot multiple times, beat nearly to death, raped, taunted, or having seen a best friend or relative shot to death or killed in some way, right before your eyes. I'm so sad by all the stories and what you've lived through. I'm also very glad you took a few minutes to share your stories with those of us who are interested in hearing about them.
My own story isn't anything in comparison but it has to do with refusing to be a victim.
One night, my husband and I were having a conversation in the 2nd level of our home when our motion sensor / door chime sounded an alarm. We have an inexpensive portable unit sitting at the entry way from our garage, one of the most likely entry points for an invader.
We both stood there completely frozen, staring at each other with no handguns in the house at that time. We have a .22 rifle so my husband grabbed it and we proceeded to see what was going on. Turned out not to be anything, but a couple months later, my father in law who was an avid firearms afficionado, passed away leaving his handguns, rifles, shotguns, etc. to my husband and his siblings. I insisted that if we were going to have handguns in the house, I needed to learn how to shoot them so off to the range we went (January 2017).
I've since obtained my CPL and have been carrying every chance I get whever it's legal to do so, thinking in the back of my mind, the most likely time I might need it is when I'm somewhere it's not legal to carry. BGs still have an upper hand.
I'm planning to attend a couple of training classes. One of the earlier respondents mentioned that he was concerned with such minimal knowledge / training in safe handling. I felt the same way about myself. Seriously, one 8 hour class and I had my CPL and could carry? That just didn't seem to be enough. I've since participated in steel plate shooting events, been to the range 2-3 times per week, and gone through about 8000 rounds or thereabouts in less than 3 months. IDPA and tactical shooting classes are next on my list.
At this point in my learning, I don't think I could possibly get myself enough training to protect myself under every circumstance, but I sure feel a lot better about my situation than I did before I was carrying. My alertness has gone through the roof (it was always on the higher than many side anyway) so that'll help. And of course, staying out of potentially bad places is a good way to avoid anything from happening to begin with. Interestingly enough, I've perused through the streets of downtown Detroit and felt safer than some of the restaurants I've been to. Weird, I know, but something makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Best not to stick around to find out why.
Be safe everyone! Thanks again for your stories!