No one likes goodbyes, but they are necessary.
At some point in our lives, we all have to break out of the comfort zone we have built for ourselves if we ever want to grow.
A need for change
At first, it’s pretty hard. We may lose friends we’ve grown attached to, we may lose close contact with family we’ve known all our lives, or lose a work environment that we’ve only just started thriving in.
However, it’s not all a gloomy affair. Usually, what follows is a chance to make new friends, learn new skills, travel to new places, or it becomes an opportunity to learn something new about ourselves.
Rather than goodbyes having to feel like a funeral, they can be something to celebrate.
Meet Ryan
Ryan Tillman never imagined he’d end being a cop in Chino, California. In his youth, he’d had quite a few unpleasant encounters with police officers who would unfairly stop and search him even when he hadn’t anything wrong or suspicious. It wouldn’t be far fetched to say he had a bit of resentment towards police officers in general.
A purpose
In 2013, when he and his wife conceived their first child, everything changed. He had been an insurance salesman for most of his life and had managed to build a comfortable life for his wife and himself.
A new mouth to feed would changes things for the couple drastically. Selling insurance wasn’t going to cut it anymore.
Becoming an officer
Ryan joined the police force he had kept avoiding most of his life. He faced his personal feelings head on and gave it his all. He even finished second place in his graduating class at the police academy.
His most significant achievement as a police officer, oddly enough, didn’t come from wearing his uniform.
Putting good out into the world
Having experienced first hand the hostile distance between the police and members of the community, Ryan Tillman started an organization called Breaking Barriers United.
The main aim was to help repair the relationship between police officers and the community. He wanted the police to show people that their lives were more than the guns and uniforms they are assigned.
And embodying that good
In that same spirit when at work, Ryan Tillman made an extra effort to fight the stereotypes that people have of cops.
As a school resource officer in Don Lugo High School, he built strong relationships with the students he was meant to protect rather than being an oppressive authority figure in the school. It paid off.
Someone they will never forget
Chino Police Department acknowledged Ryan Tillman’s good work by promoting him to the rank of Corporal. This meant he’d have to give up the school resource officer role he had held for more than a year.
In the video with millions of views, Ryan Tillman, for his final goodbye to his students, put on a lively dance performance that the entire school loved. With the help of students in the school’s hip hop dance team, you see Ryan bust impressive moves as the crowd goes into wild cheers. Everything from trap to old school music was on the table. There’s no denying he really can move.
While it’s sad that Ryan had to leave a school he had mentored for a while, you can’t deny that he has succeeded in what he set out to do.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
