Police officers in our society are viewed in extremes, they are either perfect angels that impact their community well or they are horrible demons sent to destroy everyone and everything that they don’t agree with.

Officers take an oath to protect and serve their community, and sometimes we see officers failing while others change lives. I know as a society, we hold these men and women in blue to a higher standard but at some points, I think we forget they are people, too.

These officers have families, need to eat, have their good and bad days, and most of all, they are human. They’re just like you and I. They are working to protect their community. They sacrifice their time and their lives every day and I think we as a society forget how much it does take to become an officer. These men and women don’t have to do what they do, they chose to. They chose to serve and protect you.

The stigma and stereotypes surrounding police officers will never cease to exist, unfortunately. The media plays a huge role in how we view officers and in a way, how we treat them but we as a society can fight against it all. We can question if what the media portrays is true and do our research before we slander people. I will be the first to admit that not ever officer is perfect and there are some who make poor decisions. There are officers that abuse their power, hurt others and disobey their oath. There are officers that go out of their way to help a citizen, tie a child's shoe and work long hours. They're all over the spectrum, but don't let what you see define who they are to you. Get to know what they are like in the surrounding community, understand that they are people with lives.

Wanting to be a police officer has been hard on me. Yeah, you hear, “There’s no money,” but recently, for me, it hasn’t been about money - it’s been about the impact I could have serving my community. I want to be an officer more than ever because of these unfortunate, life-changing events. It’s terrifying, yes. Seeing the men and women slain just because they’re officers is disheartening but it goes to show how much work there is to be done.

Even though they don't get the best reputation, being an officer is worthwhile. I want to make some sort of difference, small or big scale. I think the only way I know how right now is to follow through with my goal to be an officer, to serve and protect you.