Because of you, I bloomed..​

As a child I was always thicker than my classmates, my hair was shorter, I wasn’t as popular, and in my eyes, I wasn’t as smart as some of them. Those facts alone made me feel like I was less than extraordinary. I always tried to measure myself with them, competing to fit in. I had one real friend growing up “Alexia.” She was the only one who understood me and knew what I faced at home. My mother was and still is a great mother. But she brought home a man that would soon take my virtue and leave me feeling worse than I already was. Alexia is the only one who knew what he was doing to me almost on a daily basis. It got so bad that she would stay the night with me so that he wouldn’t come to my room. I cried myself to sleep every day. Each morning I woke up hoping I was dead. Eventually, my grades suffered, and I missed graduation by 1/2 of a point. That was my breaking point. I tried to tell my mom, but of course, she didn’t hear me. Well, he ends up with some heart problem and had to take meds for it. I learned that the pills were designed to slow the heart down. I woke up one morning and decided that was it for me. I took the entire bottle, called and told my mom goodbye. Not knowing my grandmother was on her way over. I’m guessing she sensed something was wrong. I must have passed out because I woke up in the ER stomach being pumped and all. The next day my mom took me to a counselor and reality hit her that I was telling the truth. She put him out and filed charges. Through it all, she stood by me.  Everybody needs a friend like Alexia. She stood by me and listened. She cried with me and even tried to protect me. As I got older, I learned that my experience could help someone else. My experience gave me insight into what I was purposed for; It didn’t kill me, it made me better and stronger!