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My parents are highly anti-gun, they wouldn't even let me play with nerf guns growing up. So I grew up ignorant about guns but was always interested. I was born in upstate NY, moved to Austin (Round Rock - suburbs), then finally to Dallas (Plano - suburbs), so the thought of crime wasn't even on my mind. Criminals only seemed to exist on the news and in the movies. I entered college and became more interested in current events. I read more and more about crime striking the suburbs and each story seemed to strike closer and closer to home. Later, a close friend of mine (girl) was robbed at gunpoint in front of her apartment. The world I thought was safe became to seem more chaotic and tragic than I had once believed. Around this time, a friend offered to take me to shoot his Walther P22. This is the first time I have ever shot a gun, and instantly became interested. I later purchased a Sig Mosquito that month. Seeing that most of my friends were girls walking around in condition white, I began talking to them about awareness, but was quickly labeled paranoid and I realized they were rather anti-gun as well. I took it upon myself to take each of them out to the shooting range in order to hopefully change their perception or at least open their mind. My arsenal slowly began to grow and while my friends are now more open, they will never be in the mindset to carry. I took it upon myself to carry instead. I figured it was better than nothing since I am around them often enough. I still continue to try to preach self defense and awareness to them now that graduation is coming up and we will be going our separate ways. My eyes have been opened to all the dangers in this world and I take it upon myself to protect my loved ones, even if they would be appalled to find a gun on me.