Being Resilient is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change”. We all have times in our lives that force us to change and deal with problems, but the determiner is how we come out the other side.

I was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. In hindsight, I was “born” into trauma. When my mom was 11, she was raped, became pregnant, and went on to experience a “backyard” abortion. Years prior her biological parents had divorced, and she remained with her mom. When her dad found out what happened, he removed her, without giving her the opportunity to say good-bye. Mom never recovered.

Fast-forward 11 years. My mom met my dad, left home, got pregnant with me, and married my dad. Neither were able to parent me. My dad left fairly quickly, as I only recall seeing him 2 times in my life. My mom turned to alcohol and drugs, frequently leaving me alone to fend for myself for weeks, months, and at one point a year. Between the ages of 6 and 16, I was molested by 13 different people. Shortly after turning 16, I left home to live on my own.