Brittany Perilli: "LOVE YOURSELF."

In the twelve years that I’ve been a photographer, I’ve met so many people from all walks of life. But I’ve never really met a person with the courage and willingness to openly share their past traumatic experiences with me...until now. Today I had the opportunity to interview a wonderful young woman named Brittany Perilli, who wanted to share her story in hopes to inspire, uplift and warn others about the possible outcome of certain life decisions we make that can tremendously impact our future. This is her story:

At the age of 15 years old, Perilli was introduced to her ex-boyfriend, whom she met through a friend. It was love at first sight for her at such a young age, which later led to her being intimate with him. As Perilli became more involved with her ex-boyfriend, she eventually brought him home to meet her mother. However, she didn’t approve of him. Not too long after that, things between Perilli and her ex-boyfriend began to change. In fact, things took a turn for the worse. The loving relationship they once had, became toxic. After suffering through both verbal and mental abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Perilli mustered up the strength to leave.

A year and a half after breaking up with her ex-boyfriend, Perilli was 16 years old. One day, she and her friends decided that it would be a good idea to throw a house party in the absence of someone's parents being out of town. Lo and behold, their plan was successful. The day of the party, everyone was having a good time. Then suddenly, Perilli’s ex-boyfriend showed up unannounced with his brother, a friend and an older woman. At that moment, Perilli received a phone call from him, demanding that she come outside to talk. Afterwards, she stepped outside to meet him on a street corner to have a few words with him, arguing that she wanted to be left alone. But that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He immediately became furious and began yelling at Perilli. In an attempt to de-escalate the situation, she walked away from him. He began to follow her, and along came his brother, the friend and the older woman. As Perilli made her way back to the party, her friends noticed the ex-boyfriend, his brother and the others following her. So, they quickly came to the door to defend her, asking them all to leave. Then, Perilli’s ex-boyfriend and his entourage left from in front of the house. No one knew if they would be coming back, so Perilli and her friends continued to have their house party.

Fifteen to twenty minutes later, Perilli’s ex-boyfriend and his brother came back to the house with a loaded shotgun. From a distance, no one could tell what he had in his hand. Unknowingly, Perilli’s friends went to the window. Meanwhile, Perilli's ex-boyfriend finally approached the door, pointing the shotgun towards the window, yelling out loud that he wanted to see Perilli. At this point, Perilli’s friends came to the realization that he had a weapon in his hand, and now, they were all afraid, screaming hysterically, "He has a gun! He has a gun!" But for some reason, one of Perilli’s friends decided to open the door, then quickly shut it again...and BAM...Perilli's ex-boyfriend fired the shotgun, causing a shell to go through the door, taking a piece of Perilli's colon and liver, along with fracturing her hip bone in one blow. In a state of shock, Perilli stood frozen, holding her side as she laughed and said, "Ha, he just shot me." By this time, Perilli's ex-boyfriend and his brother both fled the scene. Perilli's friend Carlos laid Perilli down right away and proceeded to put pressure onto her wound with anything he could find, to try and stop the bleeding. Everyone was screaming and yelling. Ironically, in the middle of this chaos, Perilli’s ex-boyfriend called Perilli's phone 20 to 30 times. He was told by one of Perilli's friends that she was shot, which he had not been aware of when it happened. In due time, someone managed to call the cops. As soon as they arrived, Perilli was rushed to the hospital, where she would begin fighting for her life.

While hospitalized, Perilli had to have 18 inches of her colon removed and her intestines reconnected. Following the operation, she was hooked up to a ventilator for three days. On Perilli’s road to recovery, she carried many burdens along the way (i.e. low self-esteem, trust and abandonment issues, etc). Even till this day, Perilli will always remember what was done to her and have to live with the mental and physical scars of it all. As for her ex-boyfriend, he was charged for the crime he committed against her and sentenced to three years in prison. In spite of all the hurt and pain Perilli had to endure throughout her tragic circumstance, she has become a true living testimony and beacon of hope for others to see. In essence, she has learned a valuable lesson, and would like to share a message to everyone out there:

“Don’t fall in love so easily. Take your time, there is no rush. When you rush into things, anything could happen. Do not ignore the red flags. If you ever feel unsafe in a relationship, leave. No matter what that person tells you, do not stay. Take care of yourself. Your safety comes first. Love yourself.”