Woman notices a stranger watching her outside Jersey Mike’s. What she does next is a good reminder about situational awareness
Instincts save the day
Being a woman is not always fun, especially outdoors. If you scroll through the internet or watch the news, you’ll find several instances where women have been stalked or made to feel unsafe by other men. Emily’s (lifewithemilyl) experiences were not much different. In a TikTok video, she shared that a man at Jersey Mike’s made her uncomfortable by following her every move.
Speaking about the circumstances of her Jersey Mike’s visit, Emily said, “I went to go pick up an online order at Jersey Mike’s… I kind of figured it wouldn’t be ready. But I just went in, noticed there were no bags…I was like, no big deal, I’ll sit in my car….” Emily then said she realized a man was watching her in the parking lot. She mentioned, “…I realized that a guy walked out behind me and he was parked next to me….. I looked over a couple of times and just noticed he was, like, staring at me. And so I was like, “That’s kind of weird.””
Emily said she pretended to scroll through her phone to avoid thinking about her situation too much, but then noticed things that made her even more sure the man was keeping an eye on her. “When I went to get out of my car to go check my order again, he started to get out of his car. Mind you, he just walked out of Jersey Mike’s with, like, his cup… and then he was getting out of his car…we were going out of our car together…we were walking in the same direction, and I felt weird, and so I, like, pretended like I forgot something in my car.”
“So I turned around, and he turned around and got back in his car. And immediately I was like, okay. Like, I don’t feel. So I sat there. I sat there for another 10 minutes,” Emily said, highlighting how she tried to catch the man off guard but ended up locked in her car for several minutes.
Emily hoped her situation would improve, but despite that anticipation, the man never left. “Every time I would casually look over, he would either be looking at me or kind of looking, like, in my general direction, but, like, trying, I don’t know, to make it not obvious, even though it clearly was,” Emily said. After observing everything that was going on, she decided to call Jersey Mike’s, and they eventually brought her her food outside, ending her long ordeal in the parking lot.
“I stare at them back”
Emily expressed gratitude to Jersey Mike’s for helping her through the situation. While it’s unclear whether she shared her circumstances with them, they clearly helped her feel safe. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to receive such support.
People commented on Emily’s post. A few described how they handle similar situations. A user wrote, “I stare at them back. Very very intensely and trying not to blink [sic] with the worst RBF. because I want them to know that I SEE THEM. so far it has a 100% success rate of them leaving.” Another said, “I always pretend to call someone and I stare at them and say their description out loud and they get creeped out and they leave.”
A few others appreciated Emily’s instincts, highlighting how they helped her in the situation, which kind of reminds you of Rachel’s case. One person commented, “Hat [sic] definitely wasn’t nothing. I’m so glad your intuition kicked in. I’m glad you’re ok and thank you for posting this.” Another stated, “Good job being vigilant!…”
While it’s hard to predict whether you’ll find yourself in a scenario like Emily’s, it’s always a possibility, especially considering how often these incidents occur. In moments like that, one should take Emily’s advice from her video and stay aware of one’s surroundings when something seems off.
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