I never considered what my future might hold, never got the chance. At 15, we lost my older sister and her 3 babies to a house fire. That shook our family down to our very cores. I could hear my mother screaming at night, and thought to go to her, but thought she may want to be left alone. So, long story short, I didn't have MY mom for a long time. I had a woman who would leave foods in the fridge that I could grab and eat without her help. And later on this same woman came home drunk with guy after guy, some of which were MUCH more interested in me, and were forceful. I learned to stay out at night as much as I could, and I did every possible bad thing a teen could do. I found that staying out at night would not save me from being forced. I stopped caring about it, turned my face aside, and let it happen. That was when Katana showed up. SHE fought back with a viciousness that was apalling and almost killed some men. Katana lives in my mind, and she protects me - coming forward to handle any problem with alacrity. That is actually helpful.