When Freddie Almazan was 13, he was shot in the head.
He was going home, listening to music. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in the hospital.
After being shot, Almazan was paralyzed on the right side of his body, he told Warsaw Community High School students Thursday at the Performing Arts Center as part of Warsaw Community School's speaker series.
After leaving the hospital, Almazan said he struggled with how different he had become. He couldn’t drive a car or ride a bike. He said he couldn’t be a normal teenager.
He said he couldn’t count the number of times he cried himself to sleep. He eventually started cutting himself. A year later, he tried to end his life. He said as soon as he made that decision, he regretted it.
Although the doctors saved him from dying, they couldn’t save him from the problems Almazan had.
There were many things that stood out to Almazan, but he shared information about the idea of external locus of control, which is the degree to which people believe that they have control over the outcome of events in their lives, as opposed to external forces. An examples of that idea is luck.
He also talked about identifying as a victim. He said people can behave like victims because they identify as a victim. When he stopped thinking of himself as a victim, Almazan said his entire life changed.
Almazan shared three lessons he learned, which served a purpose to that feeling.
The first lesson was to learn to take personal responsibility.
In 2015, he decided to go to Brazil. Shortly after arriving in Brazil, he questioned his decision.
Almazan said he decided to stay. He said he was tired of running from his problems because, at the end of the day, his problems were still there. He still felt invisible and alone. He asked if running away again changed anything.
He said one of his greatest fears was the fear of rejection. He didn’t talk to people in high school and part of college because of his fear of what they would think of him.
He said he realized the only way to overcome his challenge was by facing them. He started talking to people and making friends. He ended up teaching English in Brazil. He took risks he never thought he would.
He decided how he wanted his life to be.
“I’m the author of my own story,” he said.
The second lesson he shared was to embrace his flaws and imperfections.
He said everyone is a work in progress. He said he is more beautiful because he is broken. Someone’s challenges are not their defeat. People’s imperfections make them beautiful, he said.
The third lesson was that of forgiveness.
Almazan said forgiveness allowed him to heal. He said forgiveness is not forgetting and does not excuse the person’s action. Forgiveness is simply a choice and is a gift you give yourself.