WALKING IN MY FEAR

Tessa was beautiful, intelligent, and full of life. From a young age, she seemed older than her years—her beauty often drawing the

 attention of older men long before she was ready to understand it. That attention frightened her, and she was never afraid to speak about the fear she carried. In middle school, Tessa would often tell her friends, “Never break up with a guy. He might kill you. Just do something crazy so he breaks up with you.”

Even at such a young age, Tessa lived with the belief that leaving the wrong man could cost her life. As the years passed, Tessa grew into a wife and mother. She built a beautiful home and appeared to have the life many would envy. But behind closed doors, things were

 falling apart. Her marriage had become strained, and Tessa had reached her breaking point.

One early morning, before the children woke up, Tessa tried to have a conversation with her husband. The discussion quickly escalated into an argument. Overwhelmed and needing space, she left the house and began walking down the street to clear her mind.

Still angry from the confrontation, her husband got into his car and followed her.

As Tessa walked, he pulled alongside her and called out her name.

She stopped and turned toward the window.In an instant, he pulled out a gun and shot her multiple times. When he realized what he had done, he turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the face.

Neighbors called for help, but Tessa died before the ambulance

arrived. Tessa was only 24 years old. The fear she carried as a little girl became the reality she could never escape.

Her story is a heartbreaking reminder that sometimes fear is not

 irrational—it is learned, lived, and, for too many women, tragically fulfilled.