Coping is Hard

by Name Undisclosed
(Florida, USA)

At the age of three my mother married my step-father At first I thought it was nice because my siblings and I had a father figure. it wasn't very long after their marriage that the abuse started.

T-- was in the military before which made things worse. At the age of four to eleven I was being abused Physically, sexually, emotionally, and mentally.

At first I was lost but I thought it was okay because he was an adult and I thought he wouldn't do nothing wrong. At the age of 6 I started cutting myself to handle all that was going on. At the age of seven my bothers started sexually abusing me. I just kept quiet and cut to deal with everything.

A short while later we became homeless and had no place to go. We had a huge family and I thought that it would stop. It never did. When we were homeless we never went to school let alone eat. We never knew when our next meal was going be.

I can remember whenever we did something bad we would get locked in the basement without food for days at a time. Whenever I went to school I always wore long sleeves and jeans. My excuse was that I am anemic (which is true) and I was always cold. The thing that gave it away was me not talking to anyone and always saying I was fine. Until I was eleven.

I then got in foster care and I thought my life would be safe. I thought that when you go in foster care you were not supposed to be hurt. I was also abused in foster care.

Throughout my many years on this Earth I have been: homeless, sex trafficked, abused, beaten, neglected, in foster care. Etc. I have had a rough life but I am not here to take pity I want to share my story and even my scars from cutting myself with others and let them know they are not alone. I want them to know that I am here for them and that they don't have to be alone anymore. That they don't have to keep in the family secret. I want them to know that anything is possible and to never give up. Keep faith and hold on just a little bit longer.