I am a survivor. I come with a lot of baggage, I will be first to admit that. Things that don’t bother or set you off, can send me into a whirlwind of emotions for days. PTSD. One of those things I had to learn to live and deal with. It is a part of me. It is not something that just goes away. My past has made me very alert to a lot of things. It is a good thing but also a bad thing. Sometimes I tend to get defensive when there is no need for it. It is as if at times I feel l

I’ve always been drawn to water. I love the oceans, lakes, and ponds. It is as if it is my own little piece of heaven. The place where I can let all my thoughts run wild and yet at the same time I can still feel at peace. I can scream out all my pains without fear. I can cry my deepest cry without judgment. Then, as soon as I have pulled myself together I am literally face to face with myself. Looking at my reflection on the water. Sometimes the body of water may be peaceful,

She was lost in her own hell. Barely holding on. She thought she knew better than to sleep with the devil. His lies kissed her lips and she was gone. His masked disguise left her blind. Her strength and courage was sucked right out of her. She was a dead woman walking. Scared to cry out for help. Scared to run away. She held back her tears and carried on each day. Not knowing how much more she could take. Not knowing if tomorrow she would awake. Walking on eggshells. Plotting

Have you ever wondered why? Why he or she covers up the lies? Why he or she doesn’t just leave? Why he or she cannot see what you see? Have you ever tried to understand? Walk in his or her shoes if you can? Ever think of the dangers that are at hand? Do you realize the mental control that is in place? Do you know the things that he or she must face? Do you know what is possibly at stake? How much careful planning it all takes? Before judging and assuming, before victim bashin

One morning she woke up different. Done with trying to figure out who was with her, against her or walking down the middle because they didn’t have the guts to pick a side. She was done with anything that didn’t bring her peace. She realized that opinions were a dime a dozen. Validation was for parking. Loyalty wasn’t a word but a lifestyle. It was this day that her life had changed. Not because of a man. Or a job. But because, she had finally realized that life is way too sh

So as you all know I started writing my book about my experience with domestic violence, the chapter I am currently working on so far is one of the most difficult chapters. It has taken me a long time to write what I have written so far. It has opened up a wound I thought was healed. I have realized that there has not really been full closure on this aspect of my life. Many tears have been shed while writing previous chapters, so many unanswered questions. So many “Why’s?” an

Hey all, so I am in the works of creating a newsletter.  I am planning on starting it in September, I thought that would be a great time since it is the 1 year anniversary of my blog page. On my page I have the subscription sign-up on there, I want to focus on gaining subscribers now while I work on newsletters and continue educating myself with creating them, I have a couple in the works already. This newsletter is a monthly newsletter focusing on encouraging, inspiring, and

Love, a word that I always say is an action word. Not just a word that is said, but a word that is shown, love is something that you do. By definition, love is an intense feeling of affection. I often find other survivors asking “How will I ever love again?” To be honest, you will never be able to truly love another person until you first love yourself. When you were in an abusive relationship you were not loved or cared for properly which may have led to you feeling like you

Thank you joicelizsabeth (my soul-sister); for nominating me for the Sisterhood of the World blogger award. To say I am honored is an understatement! I thank you so much, and truly appreciate you J! It looks like all I have to do is answer 10 questions, and nominate other women who are more than worthy of a nomination.  So here are the questions posed to me. Why do you blog? – At first, I wrote a blog to share my experience of domestic violence. In all honesty, I thought that

Follow my blog with Bloglovin Dear Outside World; Often times, survivors are bombarded with the same repetitive question: Why didn’t you leave sooner? or Why didn’t you leave when he or she hit you the first time? Let me be very clear, no one stays in a relationship because they enjoy the abuse. Do you want to know why someone stays in an abusive relationship? Mainly, out of fear. Fear for their own lives as well as the lives of their family. Secondly, the abuser has more tha

Follow my blog with Bloglovin There is a moment that comes for a victim when they just know. They know that it is now or never. They know that this is more than likely the only opportunity they may ever have to escape. There is no time limit. The number of years it took for the victim to leave does not compare to the fact that he or she survived! Because, as a survivor I can tell you, all you want is for the person you originally met to return. You didn’t fall in love with th

Follow my blog with Bloglovin It is AMAZING what we as writers/bloggers can take from a picture. For instance, this one here, with a tiger cub and a butterfly. “Strength of a Tiger, Spirit of a Butterfly.” When I think about strength I usually think of inner strength. I know I talk about it a lot, but as a survivor, it is something I had to remind myself of very often. Even today, with different life situations. Physical strength can only get you but so far. But inner strengt

Follow my blog with Bloglovin You are not your past! You are not all those horrible things that you were once called to belittle you and make you feel powerless. At some point you said “Enough is enough!” You dug and dug deep to muster up whatever ounce of strength you had and you got up and left. No matter how long it may have taken you to get there, the point is that you got there! You walked out and never turned back, or maybe you did. Maybe you looked back for a split sec

Follow my blog with Bloglovin “When life gives you lemons, you don’t make lemonade. You use the seeds to plant a whole orchard – an entire franchise! Or you could just stay on the Destiny Bus and drink lemonade someone else has made, from a can.” – Anthon St. Maarten We have all heard the expression: “when life gives you lemons make lemonade.” But too me, just making lemonade doesn’t seem enough, it’s only temporarily satisfying. So I had to google to see if I could find a si