Today was just your average day. Actually, no it wasn't. It was quite the opposite. Today I'd wake up normally, breathe normally, and put one foot in front of the other normally, but I'll be doing all of these things as a non-bender. With that change, a change that happened in a few moments, my entire life would be altered forever more..
I tried not to think about it, but it was hard to get off the brain. I never realized how much I had relied on my earthbending until now, when it was gone. What was even more painful was that I couldn't help out the others at this point. I had no idea where they were, where they were heading, or if they were safe. Even so, I still hadfaith. Those group of people were the strongest ones I've ever met, and bending had nothing to do with it.
Right now I was walking through the streets of Republic City, my city. Though this time, it wasn't as the Cheif of Police, it was as a simple civilian. From this angle, I could see things that I hadn't even recognized during my time of duty. I was too focused on the public as a whole, rather than each individual. From here, I can see poverty, fortune, struggle, and success.
Now as a civilian, in plain street clothes, a trench coat, shirt, and slacks, I can mix and disappear without a trace into the crowd, yes, one of them who needs a resolution. Whether or not I would have admitted it before, we're all the same, benders and nonbenders. We don't need an extremist to tell us this, we need to recognize this for ourselves.
Everyone's different. It doesn't matter our social status, bending ability, skin tone, tribe, nation, sexuality.. We all breathe the same air, eat the same food, and put one foot in front of the other the same way. I might have lost a large part of me that day, but it doesn't make me any less of a person than the person standing next to me. I'm sure my mother wouldn't have wanted to be judged or pitied for her blindness, so I sure in hell would not require anyone's pats on the backs for something I knew would happen when I told Tenzin and the others to leave me behind.
If I could say anything to those like me, who have lost their bending due to Amon's terribly misguided pursuits, I'd be sure to let them know that it surely isn't the end of the world. Our lives didn't stop when we lost our bending. They just began anew. However, I do know that I don't need the power to throw rocks in order to kick up sand and raise hell in order to fight for what I believe in.