Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

I know exactly when my life changed: when I looked into the face of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. It was 2:48 P. M. on April 15, 2013 - one minute before the most high profile terrorist event on United States soil since September 11th - and he was standing right beside me.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

Right when I was lying on the ground and saw my legs, I didn't think first, 'I'm going to die.' I was thinking, 'I'm not going to run again. I can't play basketball. I'm not going to skate.'

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

For so long I focused on all that I had lost - my legs, my anonymity, even my freedom in a way. I couldn't jump in the car, blast some music and just get away for a bit. I couldn't play basketball with my brothers. I couldn't even get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom without making it some sort of production.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

By some crazy twist of fate I was able to remember the moments leading up to the bombings, and in the end, it helped people. I'm not a hero; I did what any normal person would do.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

Everyone kept saying, 'The terrorists didn't win. You won! We won! You survived!' That's just weird to me. Nobody wins in these situations. I don't see winners and losers in tragic events.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

Hero.' I've always struggled with that word. I'm just a guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

I was still conscious when I was being transported from the blast site to the hospital.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

I see my family every day and I'm starting my own family now. I'm very thankful and grateful and there's nothing but positivity and love in my life.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

I realized I had to work on all aspects of my recovery, the spiritual, mental and physical.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

Knowing that I might be encouraging others by facing my own difficulties is what helps me get out of bed in the morning.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

Sometimes I think, 'Maybe I could have a drink or two.' But then I think about it, and I just don't want to. It's just not in the cards. I know what I feel like now that I don't drink. I know what it feels like not to be hungover, trying to put my legs on.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

Sometimes I don't fully accept it. It's tough. I miss doing old things. I miss shooting hoops with my friends.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

I remember when the photograph was taken. The famous one, I mean. The one of me being rushed from the Boston Marathon bombing without my legs.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

Even now, a year later, people ask me about the Wheelchair Photo: what do I think about it? Does it bother me? The honest answer: I don't think about it. I glanced at the photo once, about a week after the bombing. I knew immediately I never wanted to look at it again.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

I wish I wasn't the face of the victims - three lost near the finish line and hundreds injured - because then everyone would forget about me, and I could recover in peace, and at my own pace.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

I have so much work to do every day to get back to my normal life that I can't afford to be angry, even at the bombers. I can't keep looking backward.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

Everyone deals with loss.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

In the movie, I deal with the loss of my legs and adjusting and trying to become a new person, essentially.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

I want people to relate to my family, and to just getting through something - getting through loss in general.

Jeff Bauman
Jeff Bauman

There's always gonna be some pain, I think, because my body's going to be like, 'Where are your lower legs?'