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Personification of calm

While watching Good Morning America a few days ago, I saw a harrowing video from Houston TX. It was an eyewitness video of a fire at a construction site of an apartment building. On the fifth story was a construction worker stranded while the fire raged on a few feet away from him. The video contained the audio of the filmer’s panicked voice, as she watched helplessly through a window across from the construction site. My heart leapt as I watched the construction worker swung like a professional acrobat to the lower level balcony away from the fire. Just when the fire ladder reached him and he crawled  onto the rungs, the fifth floor’s blazing wall collapsed.
Thankfully, the construction worker got off of the balcony alive. As I watched other news channels of this same video (it was much easier to watch knowing that is would end in good news) I was struck by how calm and methodical the construction worker was in this moment of crisis. He really inspired me step by step on how to handle any crisis that I may face:
·         Don’t panic—he was surrounded by a wall of fire, yet he appeared calm and in control.
·         Assess the situation-- he knew he had to remove himself from that balcony stat.
·         Don’t  be afraid to ask for help—he waved towards the firefighter who was bringing the ladder close to him safely
·         Trust in your abilities—he confidently swung himself onto the next floor balcony and hopped on the ladder that eventually took him to safety without a moment’s hesitation

Hopefully, I won’t be in the exact situation as this brave construction worker was, but I will remember this news story as a true life lesson. 

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