The Victory I've Been Waiting For

I am profoundly moved today, a bit proud, and my heart has this sort of swelling with relief. One of the most harrowing experiences of my life has been not having a voice.

My voice was silenced at an early age, about 15. He followed me outside on a hot, bright, sunny day, fulfilling my diner duties at work, and emptying the outdoor trash. He had a waddle, I could spot it from a hundred hay fields away. He found me elbow-deep in the diner's outdoor trash, yellow gloves, and giant contractor bags, "whatya doin' ya lil b!tch." He'd smirk and look to get a rise out of me. Sometimes, I complied with the banter, but not that day. He smacked his lips in this perverse way, I knew where this was going. He grabbed my arm, and said 'cmere you, what's the matter, don't you love me?" I challenged him, "what if I tell?" I choked out. The blue sky was beautiful that day, when he silenced me with a death threat, "well, I'll fu**in' kill you, I'll kill your family..." followed by the most horrifying to my developing brain, he threatened his own life. To be honest, he probably padded my pocket later that afternoon with two hundred dollar bills and a pat on the ass. If you know him, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Today, another brave soul comes forward. She wishes to remain anonymous at this time but gave me and my tribe full permission to share our stories. While her's is different, it's all the same...we wish for our voices to be heard and justice to be served.

Let me be so extremely clear... these civil cases aren't about money. The laws do not afford much time to pass before it's too late to seek justice criminally. Know your facts before you victim blame and shame for seeking justice in the civil court of law. It's no easy feat; honestly, it's grueling, and I'm confident I lost at least ten years off of my life, let alone the toll it took on my family and friends.

If you look at the research, it's not typical that abuse abruptly stops in cases like these. For me, it didn't end at the precise age of 18. It took me a few years and some positive relationships outside of that toxic townie culture to truly understand the depth of manipulation, violence, my rights as a woman, and what I'll later refer to as "rural sex trafficking."

Our purpose is to give voice to the silenced youth at the hands of his brutality. It's to raise awareness, help prevent, and even help offenders who need treatment before re-offend. It's my greatest home, and I believe this is shared that more women come forward with similar stories to get support, love, validation, and above all, find their voice.

The most validating moment of this journey for me is today, another voice unsilenced. I'm incredibly honored to stand with another brave soul; please join me in surrounding her with love, light, courage, and justice. May the force be with you girl, and to anyone else who needs to hear it:

"You are fierce, you're a survivor. You're a fighter through and through. Little brave, breathe, there is a warrior within you." - Beau Taplin

This moment has encouraged me to publish my draft website that's been developing over the years as I have endured the journey of finding my voice, but haven't found the courage to publish. I'm inspired to do more today. To be available to my traumabonded sister. I'll put it out there for anyone who wants to connect, share, find your voice, and learn more about what I refer to as embracing grit...