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Survivor story

whatever happened, it's valid.

Original story

Message to a Survivor

It took me forever to accept MY story, nobody else's story, MY story. And there's days when I still doubt myself, but that doesn't make it any less valid. You are valid and strong. Go through whatever you've gone through and to still rise...that is beautiful.

Message of Healing

Healing is powerful because it's yours. Nobody can force you to do it, nobody can take it away from you, nobody can bear it for you. It's yours. It's your choice, your responsibility, your own unique story. And that right there is powerful.

I was touched on multiple occasions as a young girl, but I can't remember the face of the man. All I can remember is his skin color and the feelings of what he did. The pain, the emotions -- I remember it all. His touch never left my memory. I may not fully remember where, or who, or what exactly he did. But my body remembers what he did. Those little flashes of what you did is enough. It took me so long until I finally accepted that just because I don't know who touched me, doesn't mean it didn't happen. Doesn't make my experience any less valid. I can say I've been assaulted and admit I don't know by who. Because I may not remember my abuser's face, but I remember the fear, I remember the pain, and I remember the disgust. It took me so long to accept the facts that my body knows more than my mind does, but not all memories are visual. That's okay. That's valid. I don't need to try and pin who it could've been and how it couldn't have been this person. I don't need to know his name, his face, what his connection to me was to know that what happened to me was not okay. I can accept that I don't know who violated me and that I may never know. But I do know what happened. And that's more than enough to be valid.

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