Before TikToker @ttalls went off to college, her dad advised her to always switch up her routine when walking back to her dorm for her own safety. Fast forward to her junior year of college, and that advice really came in handy.
So, she used to go to this place called 7th Street Underground between classes, after classes, and late at night. It became her routine.
One time, she was at the grocery store and walked out to wait for the shuttle bus. There was a man sitting on a bench at the bus stop.
As she was waiting, another man walked up to her. He was wearing a magician’s outfit and told her that they had both been looking all over for her.
Apparently, they watched her every day. She jumped back and ran into the store with her groceries because the men would not get out of her way. And, this all happened in broad daylight.
She called her ex at the time, and he drove over to pick her up. When she got back to her place, the door was glued shut with heavy-duty construction adhesive.
The maintenance workers had to remove her entire door so she could get into her home.
From then on, she came up with four different routes to get back to her apartment so that it would be harder for creeps to track her.
Being unpredictable is key. Several TikTok users shared similar experiences in the comments section.
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“Girl, they didn’t want you to be able to run into your apartment! They were going to take you,” pointed out one user.
“I got followed in Walmart when I was 17. I was buying a mirror to do my makeup, and after that, I always take different ways home, and I trained myself to look at people long enough to give an accurate description if anything happens,” shared another.
“This is scary! I remember in college this man followed me 20 minutes on a walk, and just to get him off my trail, I followed a classmate into a different dorm than my own. My dad was on the phone the whole time, and I reported it to a cop once I was inside. Terrifying,” added someone else.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
