Yeah, it is a matter of being a survivor. I survived the abuse, I am still here today, I have carried on dispite all that happened. It takes a strong, powerful person to be able to do that. Sure we don't always feel like that strong person but we are filled with an inner strength that we are not aware of. A strength that has gotten us through the years of pain. I think it is a matter of not seeing yourself as the person who was abused so long ago but the person who has decided to live dispite the abuse and to make a life beyond that abuse. When I think about it I get a picture in my head of that war poster of the woman who has gone to work on the assembly lines. She has her hair up in a bandana, is wearing men's work clothes and is showing her huge bicep. That is me inside. How can that woman ever be a victim? She can't because she is strong and can take care of herself now.
Carrie

<font color=green>Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.--Emily Dickenson