Schools closed in our area 30 days ago and everyday I hear of another friend with a family member that has died due to COVID-19. Although it is a challenging time for many of us, preparedness and prevention should be our main focus.
What happens if an outbreak occurs in your neighborhood? What happens if someone in your household gets sick? The constant press conferences and increase in cases can cause us to be fearful but we cannot ignore the need for a COVID-19 Plan of Action. Communication is the best antidote for fear and during this time it is important that your family communicate their plan of action if someone becomes sick in your family.
Here are the needed steps to create your COVID-19 Plan of Action:
Create open communication. Gather your immediate family members to discuss family members that may be at greater risk. Make a list of these family members with assigned responsibilities to provide food, resources or assistance if someone gets sick. Schedule frequent calls to check in on family members and friends. Constant and open communication keeps everyone on the same page.
Create a list of resources. Make a list of local organizations that your household can contact in case you need resources, health care services or support.
Get to know your neighbors. We are all in this together. Reach out to them or join your local Next Door Group. You never know who you may have to lean on if you need supplies or assistance.
Create an emergency contact list of family and friends. Put this list somewhere that is visible in your house for others to see. Share this list with others if you live alone. Also, include your healthcare provider and local hospital on this list.
Stay informed about local COVID-19 updates and discuss it with your family. There is so much information that it can be overwhelming. Stay informed but limit your news and social media updates to not feel overwhelmed. For example, our household views COVID-19 updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. This way we are informed but not overwhelmed with the constant updates. It is also important to discuss how your family will conduct prevention to make sure you are on the same page.
What if someone in your house becomes sick?
If someone in your house becomes sick make sure you monitor their illness and watch for COVID-19 symptoms. A few emergency warning signs include:
Trouble breathing
Consistent check pain
Confusion
In most cases those with the coronavirus will be asked to recover from home. Create a plan of action for your home.
Here are a few things to remember:
If you feel you are sick and think you have COVID-19 seek medical attention but call ahead to let your doctor know you have symptoms and they will tell you what to do.
Decide on what room you will use to quarantine those sick in your home. Make sure they use a separate room and bathroom if possible. Clean the sick room bathroom as needed and try to avoid unnecessary contact with the sick person.
Restrict contact with household pets and other animals while you are sick.
Provide your sick household member with a mask that covers their nose and mouth to prevent the spread in your home.
Avoid having unnecessary visitors
Clean all high touch surfaces every day
Remember to wash your hands at least 20 seconds especially after caring for the sick person.
After Home Isolation Plan:
You or the sick person can leave your home after you have had no fever for at least 72 hours (full 3 days with no fever)
Other symptoms have improved
At least 7 days have passed since your symptoms have first appeared
Remember we are all in this together. Stay informed but make sure you are taking time out to monitor your emotional health during this time.
Being confined for long periods of time can literally drive you crazy. We can all find ourselves being short-tempered, especially having to home school our own child(ren). In order for the general masses to ‘weather the storm’ many have become daily alcohol and recreational drug users. In addition, many service industry workers and others who are deemed “non-essential personnel” are not getting paid during these challenging times. Small business owners are taking loans, some government influenced loans as well; all in an effort to have livable wages due to the Coronavirus epidemic.
What COVID-19 has done is force an unprepared society into a quarantined incarceration. Imagine not only facing these challenges with a loving spouse, but with YOUR abuser! It is unfathomable some of the trauma some victims are currently facing. On top of it all, with no way to escape. So what does one do when this is their reality?
Here are Four Diva Tactics To Survive the COVID-19 Quarantine With An Abuser.
DANGER: One thing I can guarantee, intuition is a MF’er! Once your ‘Spidey Senses’ start to tingle announcing confrontation is arising, do your best to recognize the warning signs in order to respond in an expeditious manner.
DIFFUSE: Frustration can cause a sane person to become unhinged. If you recognize the warning signs of potential violence, change your tone, be encouraging and/or apologize; anything you can say or do to have a safe exit out of the room with an abuser.
DISTANCE: Once you have found a way to get away, do just that! Go in a room with a loved one. It keeps them distanced from the abuser as well. Great time to watch a Disney movie with a child or Netflix and Be Still.
DEFEND: If for any reason the first three steps do not work and abuse is imminent, it is time to defend yourself. Assess the threat level: Is there a weapon present? Where is/are the gun(s)? Who can I call? Am I the only one needing protection? Remember, anything can be a weapon! From soup cans to pots and pans; butcher knives to hot fries; electric stove coils to the razor on the aluminum foil. The number of weapons at your disposal are nearly infinite. If you have to fight back, don’t hesitate, you are worth fighting for.
Here are a few strikes you can use to escape or possibly save your life:
Defensive Stance: Stand with your legs shoulder with a part. Step straight back on your dominant leg with same distance between feet. Hold your open and relaxed hands eye-level about 8 to 12 inches from your face. Have your elbows in at your sides. Tilt your rear shoulder back to slim yourself to avoid being a wider target.
Hammer Fist: Make a fist by rolling your fingers from your fingertips into your palm. Once they are tucked nicely, lay your thumb on the bottom side of the exterior of your index finger. Ensure you are holding them tightly. Pound the nose, face or genitals with the pinky side of your fist. Scream ‘YA!’ with each strike to maintain proper breathing and acquire attention.
Knee: Grab the individual on their diagonal shoulder with both hands, pulling them down while driving your knee (toe pointed downward and knee straight forward) through their abdomen, grown or face.
Let’s admit it Mom and Dad, we barely know what our teens are doing. We attempt to do our best at raising them to avoid the same bad choices and negative experiences we faced growing up, but they have their own path to follow. On top of it all, they are our offspring; the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree after all.
Regardless of how much we create a safety bubble for our children, society finds a way to affect them… usually through entertainment.
Well, February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month! Even though we ingrain situational awareness, boundary setting, confidence building and the power of NO! to our teens; they can still be abused. I will say this, the numbers produced by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) states 1 in 4.5 teens in a relationship will experience some form of abuse. Abuse comes in many facets, not just physical!
Does your teen avoid past friendships because of a new relationship? Have they changed their wardrobe style to something completely different than ever before since entering a relationship? When it comes to self-esteem, is your teen feeling unattractive for the first time ever?
Also, January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month; so let’s not ignore the possibility of lack of situational awareness be a reason to lose our child to this $80 Billion industry.
Talk to your teen, have open dialogue and try your best to be nonjudgmental. You may be surprised what they are facing. Don’t let an attempt at self-harm or suicide be your wake-up call to be attentive to your teen. Pay attention to the warning signs and remember, IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOUR CHILD!
Have you been a victim of violence of any of the following?
Rape, Molestation
Did you know your assailant?
Yes
If so, how long before the experience?
11+ years
Did you report the experience?
Yes
Was the individual(s) convicted and sentenced?
No
Please share the details of your experience as you feel comfortable:
When I was a child, I endured the repeated molestation of my babysitter, the teenage girl next door. Years later, at 13, my father raped me and ended up going missing. A week later, he was found dead. He’s hung himself from a tree in Oklahoma where he was living at the time.
For years after, I was in and out of depression. I spent years jumping from relationship to relationship, my family dynamic was crumbling, and I was searching for purpose. Once I began expressing myself; voicing my pain and my struggles; and looking to God for guidance, my healing began. Now I am 27, full of joy and courage living my life with the strength to fully enjoy it.
This is only a snippet of my story, because what words can really express the blur we experience as survivors of such traumas? This is however MY story and I will make in known always, this trauma was never the end of me; I am alive, well and walking through each day encouraged.
How has this experience impacted you and your relationship(s) with family, friends, co-workers, etc.?
Family life was difficult in the beginning. As each person was working through the pain, now we had to come together in hopes to rebuild relationships. My friends became my family as they covered me in love and encouraged me to have hope.
Were you initially hesitant to come forward in sharing with us?
No
If so, what made you reconsider?
N/A
If you could return to a time before the experience, what advice would you tell yourself and/or your parents?
I would tell myself to take a deep breath and pray. I would tell my mother although she may not have all of the answers, just remain present. I would tell my father I loved him for the last time.
What one piece of advice for women who have experienced violence or assault?
Free from the everyday stress of life, free from abuse, free to love.
Work, Family, Friends, Neighbors, Kids, Church… whatever is your stress, BE FREE!
Recently, I got my wife a “Mom-cation” so she could be take some time to herself to be free. The children have returned to school and the 5:30am wake up calls have been reawakened for the post-summer reality of elementary schoolers. The daily grind of getting kids ready for school, preparing for work, working, running a small business, getting kids from school, doing homework, forging an after school meal, getting dinner prepared, getting the children prepared for bed, preparing clothes and lunch for the next day and repeating daily.
I can only imagine how many of you feel the same. Therefore, figure out what you need to free yourself from, you are granted permission to release it. Breathe in deeply and exhale the freedom you deserve.
Internationally renowned self-defense company, Divas In Defense steps forward in partnership with Athleta in Atlantic Station to provide a free self-defense class for women and girls across Atlanta.
In honor of Denim Day—and to spread awareness that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, this interactive class will be taught by master trainer and program director Skye Walton.
The Denim Day Movement was founded in Italy as the direct result of a teenage woman being raped by her 45 year old driving instructor. After his trial, he was convicted and sentenced to jail but later his conviction was overturned because the young woman’s attire (jeans) were considered to be too tight to be forcibly removed, insinuating that the act was consensual. This became known as the “jeans alibi.”
Women across the world became enraged and protested, all wearing jeans as a symbol of their disagreement with the justice system.
To commemorate this special day, Divas In Defense is holding this 40 minute class to help women learn how to protect themselves and unfavorable situations. Class starts promptly at 9AM and is free to all.
The company released this statement:
“It is our social responsibility to educate women as much as we can to ensure that rape statistics go down. We must protect our women and girls.”
Because of their expertise, Divas In Defense has been summoned to universities, colleges, the Girl Scouts of America and even internationally to Kuwait at the request of Olympian, Balsam Al-Ayoub. They have appeared on CNN, NBC, CBS, E! Network, Bravo TV and Lifetime TV and more—providing valuable information to audiences worldwide. Since 2010, the self-defense corporation has offered life-saving training to women from all walks of life.
For more information on Divas In Defense’s classes and upcoming events, visit: https://divasindefense.com and follow @DivasInDefense on social media for tips and important, life-saving information.
With modern day commuting evolving into side businesses for the everyday person, it is imperative to follow a few safety guidelines when utilizing the services.
If it is night time, choose the less expensive ‘Share Your Ride’ option for the possibility of having another person in the car.
Confirm the make, model, color and license plate of the car.
Verify driver: ask the name of the driver. Do not ask, “Are you Bob?”
If you are the only passenger, ask the driver if you can sit in the front passenger seat. This is the only seat you can take control of car if need be.
If riding in the rear seat, never sit in the seat directly behind the driver.
In case you have to ride in the rear seat, confirm child lock and window lock are off. You may have to escape or exit the vehicle if in an accident.
Track your driver’s route through the app. It usually lets you know the route the driver is taking and if more passengers will be joining the ride.
Stay off the phone and pay attention as if you were riding with a stranger… because you are!
A college student got into a car she thought was her Uber, police say. She was found dead in a field: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/30/us/south-carolina-missing-college-student/index.html
Have you been a victim of violence of any of the following?
Domestic Violence, Rape, Molestation, Sexual Assault, Assault & Battery, Sexual Harassment, Other
Did you know your assailant?
Yes
If so, how long before the experience?
11+ years
Did you report the experience?
Yes
Was the individual(s) convicted and sentenced?
No
Please share the details of your experience as you feel comfortable:
I’m the oldest in my family. I am the only child to both my mother and father. I grew up not knowing my birth father and was raised by my stepfather. I grew up witnessing Domestic Violence, Alcohol Abuse, etc in our home. I was extremely abused physically, verbally, mentally, emotionally and sexually.
My first time being molested I was about 7 or 8. The teenage neighbors would babysit. They would have me put my siblings down for a nap while I was allowed to hang out with them and their boyfriends/girlfriends. One morning while everyone was still sleeping, one of the baby sitters came over and took me down to our basement. He said he lost something down there. While I was helping him look he laid me down, climbed on top of me and began touching me through my panties. I’d seen him make out with his girlfriend and knew it wasn’t right to be doing it to me. Right about the time he pulled out his penis one of my parents called downstairs looking for me and he got scared and went home.
Later that afternoon while sitting on the porch, I was asked me if he touched me. I turned red and started crying. I was then asked if he put anything inside of me and I just looked horrified and was crying hysterically. It was then said to me, “well I guess I have to take you to the doctor to see if he popped your cherry because I’m not having any grandchildren”. I had no idea what they were talking about and I was never taken to the doctor or asked anything about it again. His sister start babysitting instead.
The second time I was molested I was 12. A family friend was living with us and my parents were out of town for a family emergency. While laying in my parents’ bed watching a scary movie I fell asleep. I was wearing a one-piece romper and woke to Him grabbing my breasts, pressing his penis up against me while trying to get my romper off. I threatened to call the neighbor and have her call my parents. I later found him trying to molest others in the family and threatened to tell on him.
When I was 16, I ran away from home for the hundredth or so time. I was sitting on a swing watching boys play basketball when I was approached by a girl coming home from school. She brought me home with her and fed me and let me shower. She introduced me to the boys which included her cousin and brother. Not only did I know where they lived, but I also knew where they worked and they would look out for me and protect me.
One night after they got off work, they came to check on me. While there, another man showed up who I thought was Satan. He was drunk and quite possibly high on something. He pressured the boys into drinking and every bit of my instincts told me to get out. There was only one door and he wouldn’t let me near it. I was staying in a 2 room concrete building and the second door was chained.
When I tried going to the door, he stood in front of me and blocked me. I’m not sure how it started, but he was telling the other guys no one was going anywhere until we had sex. They were drunk by this time also. As I tried to leave, he got more threatening and the three of them beat and raped me. I was a tiny girl but I was extremely tough and I fought like hell. I was thrown against the wall and held by my hands and feet while they pulled my pants down and climbed on top of me. One of the boys, when it was his turn, told me during penetration that he didn’t want to hurt me and that he really liked me. I begged him to stop and make the others stop and he said he was afraid the other man would come back if he didn’t. The man that started it all did nothing but hold me down and watch them rape me and once they were finished he left. The two boys I knew passed out cold on the concrete floor and woke up to me sitting on a bench in shock hysterically crying. I wrote a 5 page letter explaining what happened after being punished and accused of having sex. I was sent to a Psychiatrist without another word about it.
I left home at 17 and became a nanny for one of my friend’s neighbors. She was an alcoholic and drug addict. She used to have parties and orgies and would make me “Date” whichever of the men were interested in me at the time. I remember one man being twice my age and he would make me have sex even while I was bleeding. I bled so bad once during sex I thought he killed me. A couple of days later I had a miscarriage.
I left when I was 18, met a guy and married him out of pressure. I didn’t know at the time, I had Endometriosis and sex was the most painful thing I ever experienced. My husband didn’t care. I was told it was my wifely duty and I didn’t know any better, so I would lay there and cry. There were times I would be paralyzed and couldn’t move or speak due to all the trauma I experienced by then. I even tried committing suicide, but he found me and called an ambulance. I divorced him 2 years later.
Around 1995 or 96 I met a guy who lived around the corner from me. We started hanging out and I was renting a room in a house with other people. We were sitting outside talking and he went in my room to cool down or take a nap. I was fixing lunch and he called me into the room and told me I had to have sex with him.
I told him to go home and he jumped up and starting punching me and beating me. I got to the door and screamed for help. He then locked the door and started beating my head, body, and face with his shoe. I had been beaten my whole life along with witnessing violence in my home, so I never thought I would ever allow a man to put his hands on me like that. One thing I learned quickly… no one was going to help me.
I moved 9 times in one year and had him arrested I don’t know how many times. The people closest to me always told him where to find me. This went on for a year and a half. Once he beat me so bad with a wire hanger I looked like the Elephant Man. Again no one would protect me. I worked 2 jobs so I wouldn’t have to go home. I would get beat in the middle of the street if he wanted money or thought I was looking at someone or talking to them.
A few months after I left him, I ran into an ex I had dated a few years before. I had no clue at that time he was HIV Positive and none of the people that knew told me. Everything was great in the beginning and one day he snapped while we were in the car. Accusing me of flirting with his stepdad and threatening to kill us both while driving like a maniac before he put a gun to my head. I was held hostage in my car and my home.
He would take my car, stay out all night, come home in the morning to make me have sex with him and drop me off at work. Once we pulled into the parking lot of my job and as I went to get out he punched my head so hard it hit the window and took me home, raped me and dropped me back off at work. Again, no one would help me. This abuse went on for a year before my company moved me to another state. All of this happened to me by the time I was 30.
How has this experience impacted you and your relationship(s) with family, friends, co-workers, etc.?
I don’t know how to have a real relationship with anyone. I don’t allow people to get too close or personal. I keep everyone at arm’s length and have no problem walking away without a word. I’ve spent my life running and burying my pain because I was always told I wasn’t allowed to show emotion or feel anything. I lived my entire life feeling like I was never good enough, pretty enough, smart enough or worthy of love. This is what I was told by those that were there to protect me and whom I trusted.
I don’t allow myself to truly love and don’t have a clue as to what healthy love is. It’s made me put everyone’s needs before mine and I’ve spent my life in relationships with men I could control relatively. I was taught from a very young age that sex is all men want and all I have to give them. I suffer from PTSD and Complex Trauma.
Were you initially hesitant to come forward in sharing with us?
Yes
If so, what made you reconsider?
I want to do everything in my power to help others and let them know it’s not their fault.
If you could return to a time before the experience, what advice would you tell yourself and/or your parents?
I would tell my father to leave me in the orphanage and let me be adopted by the Doctor and his wife who wanted me.
What one piece of advice for women who have experienced violence or assault?
There is NOTHING you did or said to deserve ANYTHING that’s been done to you. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There is help and you are worth more than DIAMONDS AND GOLD!! YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN THE LIES YOU WERE TOLD AND BELIEVE!!
Due to the sensitivity of the aforementioned, some names and recounts may have been amended to accommodate our vast audience. We respect each author’s strength and courage for being vulnerable, but caring enough to share and we are diligent in not altering the content of the message.
Have you been a victim of violence of any of the following?
Rape, Molestation
Did you know your assailant?
Yes
If so, how long before the experience?
2 – 5 years
Did you report the experience?
No
Was the individual(s) convicted and sentenced?
No
Please share the details of your experience as you feel comfortable:
Raising a child as a single mother, the assistance of the community is recommended to lighten the load of parenting. For me, it was no different. By this time, I had been a professional latchkey kid for years. The difference was my mother was married at the time and my step father came home at 4:15 EVERY DAY!
Within a year of their divorce, it was quickly realized my mother coming home at 5:30-ish left too much time for me to be mischievous. This is when our next door neighbors offered their assistance. Our next door neighbors had a daughter named Nicky, who took a liking to me as many teen girls do little kids. She would buy me candy from the “candy man” (if you didn’t have a community candy store, you DID NOT live in the Hood), she would watch cartoons with me, she would compliment my drawings and so much more. Why not let Nicky watch me?
I remember the first time sitting in her room, there was this picture of Prince on the wall with this feather-style hairdo. He was naked, but covering up his “manly” parts. I can honestly say, this is what I remember the most. His eyes were so judgmental and it freaked me out. Nicky would bake me chocolate chip cookies, which is still my favorite dessert, and serve them to me hot with some cold milk. My mouth is salivating thinking about some cookies now.
Everyday when she got home from school, which was like 3:30, she would knock on the door to get me after she got off the bus. Her bus stop was in front of the house, so I eagerly anticipated her bus arriving everyday. This went on for some weeks.
The first thing I recall, which would definitely be deemed inappropriate for one of my children, was Nicky asking me have I ever kissed a girl. I remember being disgusted by the girls in school drowning me with kisses during ‘Catch A Boy, Kiss A Boy’ where a group of girls would go after me, Calvin Mays and Willie Wheeler. Of course, this didn’t leave an interest for me; but I wanted didn’t want to seem like a “baby” so I hid my disgust and replied, “No.”
At this moment, Nicky instructed me to close my eyes and pucker up. I did as asked without hesitation. Nicky wasn’t cute to me then, but she was so nice to me I practically would have done anything not to disappoint her. I remember her kissing me and I went straight back to eating my cookies. She asked what I thought about it, with a full mouth I shook my head to signal my approval.
It was at this moment when Nicky told me it was our little secret, which was easy because I didn’t want her to blow the lid on all these cookies I ate before dinner. This was the beginning. Over the next couple of days, the kissing became our greeting and the cookies kept on coming. Fast forward about a week or two…
I came to the house and entered Nicky’s room, freaked out by the picture of Prince; Nicky told me she found something she wanted me to see. It was a VHS tape! I was in awe, we didn’t have a VCR in our house so I was curious to see what it did. I patiently waited for Nicky to connect the VCR to her TV, all the while eating my cookies. Once connected, I remember her turning around and looking at me. She said, “You are not supposed to see this, if you tell anyone we can go to jail.” JAIL? I thought, but this was Nicky so I knew she had my best interest in mind.
Growing up around women, I remember seeing breasts and booty. Being I was 9, my mother and aunts just started being discreet with their bodies by attempting to shield themselves. Therefore when the movie started, I wasn’t taken aback by the fact the woman was topless. They were just breasts! This is when a man walked into the frame.
I sat there eating my cookies and drinking my milk, now puzzled by this movie. The man and the woman kissed. This is when Nicky took my plate and my glass of milk, placing it on her bed side, night stand. She asked me to do what the man on the video did. Okay, I remember thinking. If this is what you want and you give me back my cookies… sure thing.
It started with tongue kissing, I thought it was weird because I hadn’t brushed my teeth since the morning; but it is what Nicky wanted. Then she took off her shirt exposing her breasts. The man in the video started licking her breasts, so I mimicked him trying to please her to get back to my cookies. She moaned and groaned like the lady in the video, so I felt like an actor. I repeated some of the stuff he said and we continued.
Within a few minutes, the lady unbuttoned the man’s pants and took him into her mouth. Nicky did the same. I recall looking disgusted like… Pee-Pee comes out this thing. But, I didn’t want to upset her so I complied. I don’t remember enjoying it, but I know it did give me some arousal. How? Because the next scene he entered her with his penis.
All I could think about was, how long is this? I think my cookies are cold and my milk is warm. Yet, we continued. I don’t remember how long it lasted, but I would assume a few minutes. She made me vow to not say a word or I may never see her again, let alone never get anymore pre-dinner cookies. My lips remained sealed.
This went on over a few months, during this time we had seen and recreated at least 15 different movies. Everything from oral to vaginal penetration. It became something I knew I had to do to get my cookies (no pun intended). I can honestly admit, this may have continued for years if she didn’t move. By now, my mother was pregnant with my younger brother so I chalked the experience up as mutual curiosity.
I never really looked at myself as being molested, although my wife, past girlfriends and friends have always said I was. It was the #SurvivingRKelly docu-series which has forced me to come to the realization that I too am a Survivor.
Although, I wouldn’t recognize Nicky if she walked up to me today. I will always remember how Prince looked at me in judgment every time I had “cookies” with my darling, Nicky!
How has this experience impacted you and your relationship(s) with family, friends, co-workers, etc.?
To be honest, I think it made me have an insatiable appetite for sex. In middle school, boys would grab girls butts and things. I remember thinking, what is the purpose? It may have had an impact on the way I love also. I love hard and fast.
Were you initially hesitant to come forward in sharing with us?
Yes
If so, what made you reconsider?
I own a self-defense company called Divas In Defense. I deal with a lot of violence against women, so I kind of dismissed my experience as curiosity. The hype around the docu-series, Surviving R. Kelly, reminded me of how innocent I was as well as willing to sell out myself for cookies. I went to a cigar bar with a couple of friends who described their abuse as well. This is when I realized, wait… I was molested! On January 13, 2019, I posted on Facebook a simple post about being molested by my babysitter and realized it is a dilemma. If it happened to us, so many men in my immediate circle… #WhoElse
If you could return to a time before the experience, what advice would you tell yourself and/or your parents?
First of all, I would tell myself I am worth more than hot cookies and cold milk. I would advise my mother to pay attention to my body language and things of that nature. I remember once I was masturbating with spit from my mouth. My mother walked in like, why does it smell like spit in here? Ashamed, I shrugged my shoulders and let her finish yelling before she stormed out. I wish she inquired a little more.
What one piece of advice for women who have experienced violence or assault?
When I originally came up with the questions for this, I was being gender specific about women who experienced abuse. I teach women self-defense, why focus on men I thought. I was wrong!
The one piece of advice I would have for ANYONE who experienced violence or assault is… If you feel the need to hide or be bribed to keep something secretive, it should probably be brought to light.
Due to the sensitivity of the aforementioned, some names and recounts may have been amended to accommodate our vast audience. We respect each author’s strength and courage for being vulnerable, but caring enough to share and we are diligent in not altering the content of the message.
After many of years of feeling docile and meek, I woke up one day feeling FIERCE! I mean Beyonce as Sasha Fierce… FIERCE! I felt it was the day for me to tackle the World. Anyone or anything that challenged me was quickly met with a toughness unlike any other. It almost reminded me of Me, Myself & Irene, a movie starring Jim Carrey as a Rhode Island state trooper named Charlie who, after years of continuously suppressing his rage and feelings, suffers a psychotic breakdown which results in a second personality, Hank.
I won’t go as far to say I was psychotic; although I did experience a little unedited, road rage jargon without the children in the car. One thing I will say, I was ready for whatever. I felt so confident and empowered; almost invincible.
Since that day, I have embraced a tough girl presence while balancing the sensitive soul I still am. I recommend you embrace your Fierce and become a tough girl too, order your ‘Tuf Grl’ shirt today at www.divasindefense.com
