Everything changed in early February of 1993 when my life path was drastically obscured by the sudden arrival of the worst tragedy I would come to experience; I was brutally raped and left with a severe  injury that required surgery by a man I knew and a fight for justice I was given no chance to win.

At the age 19 I was setting the foundation for career success in Communication and photography.  I was beginning the second semester of college. By this point I had already suffered and survived a lot: being struck by a car at age 4, physical and mental abuse at home, molested by two neighbors before age 8 and was severely bullied starting in Middle School through my junior year of High School.  These negative life events were behind me and I was working towards something new and positive. The person I had become had been shattered on the ground before me in a matter of minutes. 

Yet something deep inside forced me forward.  I was not going to be destroyed by this. I owned my destiny.  This is what my past had taught me. I knew my path forward was going to be arduous. I had to not only survive, I had to overcome; a tall order that no one offered as an option to me at the time.

It was through divulging my experience to my mother and sister, at the time of my rape-kit exam had finished, that I learned both of them had been brutally raped. The most tragic part was that I was the only person they had ever told.  This was the spark that ignited the fire inspiring me to open my story up to others to help them see they are not alone.  My story was shared on the front page of the local newspaper only three months after I had been raped.  That was the last time I spoke out and it saved one life that I knew about. I realized then that I still needed to heal before I could say anymore.

This is the second time I have shared my story but this time I have only begun to touch on what I have learned. At the age of 38 I have successfully overcome the effects of every tragedy I have endured.  What gave me the tools to have a healthier more emotionally centered view of life was through giving myself permission to heal, photography, communication and some added therapy near the end where I needed some direction.  These components provided the scaffolding from which I was able to gain a new perspective on my life; I had to do hard work to rebuild how I saw my life in a positive way.