I just had a very uncomfortable experience. There is no doubt in my mind that this was a divine sign that my recent interest in carrying/gun ownership is not only justified, but truly genuine and, dare I say, vital.

BackgroundI'm 24. I've been shooting guns in various environments (skeet, hunting, fun at the farm) for at least 10 years. I've always wanted to own my own guns, get my CCW and be a carrier just like my father and his father before him. I've never prioritized it because.. well, life got in the way.That is, until my little brother (22 y/o) showed me his new pistol for carrying. I was enraged... "no way you got a gun before me you little bastard!"Needless to say, he lit a fire in me. This happened three days ago on Monday.I spent the past 60+ hours completely immersed in guns. Seriously, I have hardly slept. It's so much fun.Last night, I bought my first gun online, the CZ P-01 Omega. Shipped out today and can't be more excited.Here's where the story begins.StoryI have two dogs (Lucy and Cup) and decided to take them for a walk today. Before leaving the house, I distinctly remember thinking to myself:"Gee, what happened if I got randomly mugged today? That would suck. I'd probably have to take the beating, and if lucky, I could walk to the station and explain what happened. I would hope I would remember details. Ugh, that would really blow. I mean, I could even get killed.. it's unlikely, but it could happen right? Hell, I'll bring my knuck on this walk."Mind you... this little scenario randomly popped into my head.Of course, I forgot to go upstairs and actually grab the single-hole knuck."Meh, whatever."Totally forgot about it and went on my way.A few minutes into the walk, I passed a neighbor that was outside her house."Is that a puppy?!?! Aww!""BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK yes he's very yappy BARK BARK BARK BARK"She yelled "Well maybe he'll be friends with our dog one day!" as I walked past.It was at this moment that in my peripheral vision, I saw someone in a car that was driving slowly, right next to me. I looked over and saw a single person in a car staring right at me.At first, I thought it was my next-door neighbor being funny."Hey what's up man?"No response. I looked at the person as he continued driving slowly right next to me, staring directly at me and never breaking eye contact.I keep eye contact for maybe 5 seconds."...what's up dude?"No response. Still staring directly at me.In my mind: "Hmm... I don't think this is someone I know."I turned my head forward and kept walking.In my peripheral vision, I can tell that he's still there, driving eerily slowly, staring directly at me.This time, I can't remember what I said exactly, but I think I turned to him and said "What's up man?" a third time.I maintain my eye contact with him for another 5 seconds or so.Nothing. The guy is locked on me, staring right back. It felt menacing.what the fuckThis was the point that I realized this person was deciding whether or not he wanted to mug me.To be honest, it seemed like he was really high. It's possible that he was interested in my dogs...But somehow I doubt that.While slowly following me and staring directly at me, I stopped and turned the other direction. He sped off, turned, and got lost.I kept on walking and called my little brother immediately."Dude, you'll never guess what the fuck just happened."And so the story goes.MoralIf you got this far, you already know what the moral of the story is.The point is that anything can happen at any time to anyone, anywhere. And it feels awful to be helpless. Stranded. Defenseless. It's simply not fair.I'm not a superstitious guy (maybe a little stitious). Honestly, I don't believe in this stuff.But there is not a single doubt in my mind that this experience meant something. The genuine, deep fear that I felt was real. Would I still feel it while armed? Duh! But the POINT is that I have the right to defend myself in that scenario should it escalate in an extremely undesirable way.The point is that I can defend myself, so I will.It's a tough choice. To arm oneself and accept that fact that if circumstances unfolded in the worst possible way, you could end up killing someone. You could end up hurt as well. You could also end up dead.The point is that we have the right to try everything in our power to prevent that from happening.Thanks for reading! I'm joining the CCW crew ever so shortly! via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/3fgEkKu