YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DO UNTIL YOU WALK THROUGH FIRE

Working in an ambulance is not just a profession, it is a way to survive inside yourself. When you look pain, fear, and loss in the eye every day, you either break or gather yourself from the fragments to rise again. I chose the latter. Not out of heroism. But because there is no other way.

I learned not to show when I am scared. I learned to restrain the trembling in my fingers when I stitch up a wound to the sounds of explosions. I learned to smile at a person knowing that he has almost no chance. I learned to be strong not because I want to be, but because there is too much weakness and hopelessness around. Someone has to hold on.

Not every man can stand such a woman next to me. I am not looking for a savior. I am saving myself. But somewhere deep inside there is still a glimmer of hope that one day there will be a person next to whom you don't have to hold on. You can just be a woman.

And maybe he won't even be afraid of my firm voice and direct gaze. He will just say: "I'm here."

And he will stay.