My name is TiaMaria and I'm a survivor.
Not a victim. Never again.
I refuse to say I'm a victim. I was a victim, but not anymore. To continue to use that word means that I continue to allow what happened hold me back. It means that he still has control over me.
NOT. FUCKING. LIKELY.
Once upon a time, I naively swore that I wouldn't be that girl. I was smart, I was educated, and I would never let a man put me in harm's way.
And then life found me in the wee hours of the morning curled up in a truck stop lounge a stone's throw from the Canadian border and a couple thousand miles from home. Crying, scared, and broken. I had let a man hurt me. I had given up the reins of my life, surrendered control, and LET. HIM. HURT. ME.
Don't get me wrong: I don't take responsibility for his actions. I know I didn't ask to be smacked or held down. I definitely didn't ask to be raped. But I know, had I made different choices, I may not have wound up there.
It took me six months of counseling and support groups to reclaim control of my life, of me. It took me six months to discover I am strong, I am a survivor. Never again will I allow someone to take that strength from me.
I won't be a victim again.
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