It's hard to hear about all these cases where sexual abuse took or is taking place. However, there is a positive about how much has been coming out too in that it's high time a big discussion take place about it and we get to actually see prominent individuals finally being held accountable and shamed. Also, all the information coming out will help educate young women where they learn how these type of individuals operate and they all follow a plan where they make an effort to get young women alone. That is something I had experienced myself when I was young and naive thinking an individual I had thought I could trust would never do something like that to me.

It's important that you remember that you survived whatever you experienced and you are in a place "now" in your life where you are wiser and safer. However, if you continue to struggle you may benefit by finally telling your own story along with whatever you feel your own experience took from you that you deserve to grieve and finally heal from. There is a part of you that deserves to be heard and it's probably time for you to acknowledge that "hurt" part in yourself that you most likely unknowingly put away in an attempt to not even acknowledge the "self" at the time that was hurt and deserved to be able to talk about it.

One of the comments I see a lot is "why wait all these years later?". Well, as you know, when someone has been a victim or experienced something traumatic, there is no real "time" to the experience, instead it is a part of the person their entire life no matter how many years pass.

I have shared a video of the Mustang that came into my life. My daughter and I taught him a lot of things, even helped him trust. However, he was abused and traumatized and no matter how many years go by, he will always carry a certain "fear" of human beings, especially human beings that approach him with an object in their hand. That tells me that someone abused him and hurt him badly with some kind of object and I can't change how he is never going to forget that. I can't "just" ignore that challenge either or "pretend" it doesn't exist and I have made it a point that anyone that is entrusted with him understands that about him and "respects" it. Now, Liz, let's think about that, because you have experienced something in your life that you have been struggling with right now, so with that the first thing you need to work on "for yourself" is respecting that part of "yourself". You can't change what happened to you, but you can finally talk about it and give yourself permission to respect it instead of looking for ways to "pretend it never happened or ignore it'. This is not about re traumatizing yourself either, instead it's respecting your own personal feelings about it that you have tried to ignore and you tend to get depressed with this ongoing effort to "ignore" whatever it is along with how it hurt you in some way.

Everyday you get in your car and you go to work and your work is about helping young individuals find their way towards building their lives so they can thrive "despite" the challenges they face. Lord knows you try your hardest to be "strong" for these different individuals, part of that comes from this "hurt" you have yourself. I really loved/love that Mustang and I wanted to help him, I saw a lot of myself in him yet I never talked about him that way. When he was doing really well and his value began climbing, truth is what I wanted more for him is that he end up with a person that would not look at him as an "object" for their gain, but as a sensitive animal that deserved to be respected and loved and appreciated.

You were hurt Liz, but that hurt in you deserves to be acknowledged because that hurt has contributed to your "value" as a human being where you go to work and make a big effort to help others find their way because you actually do know how important it is to overcome challenges and slowly learn to navigate despite these challenges. But one thing you strive for in your day to day effort is to help young individuals learn to believe in their OWN VALUE as a human being. That is what a part of you struggled with the most in what she experienced. Abuse and neglect always affects an individual's sense of personal value. So, with that, why not finally allow this part of you to tell her story so you can help her finally "heal" instead of trying to keep ignoring her with different distractions.