Hello… I’m Amy!
It’s true. The February 14, 1991 release of Silence of the Lambs was pivotal in my life plan really starting to take shape. After my initial (but not last) viewing, I knew with teenage certainty I wanted to be Clarice Starling. I would travel the world interviewing the “worst criminals” because I thought it would be “interesting”. I didn’t have much of a reason beyond that. While finishing high school and waiting for the FBI to call, I continued on with my “life plan”. And then, well life happened and my plan fell a teensy bit apart. Steeped in the resolute certainty of my plan, I hadn’t considered any back up ideas. Oops.
A month into my plan I found myself pregnant sans boyfriend (he heard the news and joined a traveling band) and the private “Christian” college I was attending dumped me too (if that stirs up big feelings, please know I’ve long forgiven them and all is well). While never losing my resolute certainty to have some kind of plan and a paycheck I started Law Enforcement school and right-sizing my FBI behavioral science dreams. Of course, becoming a “cop” had never really entered my mind and I knew precisely nothing about actual police work, outside of what I learned in middle school from weekly episodes of TJ Hooker. What I did know is I was responsible for another human being, life was still insisting upon “happening” and my prideful independence insisted I figure IT out.
Eventually I found myself with a job offer from the Olympia police department in Olympia, WA. I knew less about Olympia than I knew about police work. My hire date was February 14, 2000. Exactly nine years to the day of the release of Silence of the Lambs. Surely fate of some kind right??
I spent the next 23 years with Olympia PD, holding a variety of positions and promotions. I spent most of those years believing I was a good police officer and believing I knew why. Over the years there were plenty of reinforcements of my beliefs and while I knew I didn’t have it all figured out (after all, who does?) I was pretty sure of a lot. Then in 2018 I agreed to oversee a new downtown Walking Patrol unit. While it may have been seen as a promotion by some and a suicide mission by others, it was actually an invitation. The next 5 years became the most tumultuous and transformational years of my life, changing me forever. I traded my certainty for curiosity, my distance for proximity, consequences for connections and my agendas for relationships. And life has never stopped happening.
Transformation always begins with an invitation. This is your invitation.
Come, let’s be human together.
With grace, truth, and gratitude,