One day I was walking home along the street with my iPod on, when suddenly my headphones  were knocked off my head and a man threw his arm around my neck, saying "Just be quiet." I was being attacked, and this man's arm was gripping   onto me! I started screaming and tried to pull him off me, but failed. He was forcing me to walk towards the back of an auto repair shop and he just kept saying: "Be quiet." My mind froze with fear. Then I heard my great-grandmother's voice in my head. She was saying: "Come on now, I know you are stronger than that!" She was the rock in our family until she died four years ago. I have never had any self-defense  training, but I went for it--I let out a loud scream as I kicked my leg back into his shin ! He let go of me and I ran off. When I looked back to see if he was running after me, I saw he was running in the opposite direction. Then I ran like crazy to a nearby drugstore. I asked the girl at the counter for the phone and called my mom. She picked me up five minutes later and I explained what happened through sobs. "I am calling the police!" She exclaimed. When we got home, two officers were waiting for us and I told them what had happened. After my experience, I was afraid to do anything. Things slowly got better, but I still don't like anyone going near my neck. The fear isn't totally gone--after all, the guy is still out there somewhere. But I had a new understanding of my own strength. I never expected to be able to fight off an attacker. I am stronger than I realized. How did the author get rid of the man?
Her great-grandmother came and helped. She used all her strength to pull him off her. Her loud scream scared the attacker and people came to help. Her great-grandmother's words gave her the strength to defend herself.