See the Triumph
  • Home
  • About Us
    • The Origins of See the Triumph
    • About our Research
    • Terms of Use
  • Blog
    • See the Triumph Collections
  • "Free Store"
  • Resources for More Information
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About Us
    • The Origins of See the Triumph
    • About our Research
    • Terms of Use
  • Blog
    • See the Triumph Collections
  • "Free Store"
  • Resources for More Information
  • Contact Us
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Picture
The Triumph Over Abuse Blog

2/27/2016

Dear Teenage Me: Vulnerability will always make you nervous, but life without it will feel scarier

Dear 13-Year-Old Me,

​A few months before you turn 14, you’ll be a raped by one of your closest friends. There will be scars on your right hand that will remind you of that day for the rest of your life. One day, you will see them as a sign of survival, but for a while you will see them as a homing device for abusive people. You will try to figure out for many years what you did to “ask for it,” so that “it” will never happen again. Nothing you do will work because no one asks to be raped by staying a little late at school after basketball practice or scoring higher than the boys on the math test or acting too much like a “dyke.”

You will not be the protagonist in your sexual and romantic life for a long time because of this. You will be ambivalent but neurotic and will sometimes want to disappear. You will not know what to do when you develop feelings for your classmate at your all girls’ Catholic high school. You will feel a twinge of fear every time you hear that word “dyke” again, even though you know it doesn’t really fit you.
I’m not going to say that “it gets better.” You will be raped again in college. You will remain too long in relationships with folks who are, at best, incompatible or, at worst, abusive. You will be stalked. You will face sexism, homophobia and biphobia, street harassment, slut-shaming, and people who think they get to touch your body on the dancefloor or at the bar or in the office. There are people who will tell you to “be careful” when you go on road trips with your guy friend or travel for business alone or take a nap under a tree or wear yoga pants (yes, even to do yoga).

You will, however, be a more authentic and empowered version of yourself.  You will stop searching for what you did to “ask for it.” While the world will change far too slowly for your liking, you will change. You will find trustworthy friends who will anchor you. You will come out as bisexual, which will help you cultivate a life that feels more honest and free. You will start caring a little less about what everyone thinks of you and start caring more about being the kind of person you want to be. While you know that giving people the power to love you gives them the power to hurt you, you will do it anyway. Vulnerability will always make you nervous, but life without it will feel scarier. You will have all kinds of intimacy and friendship and romance and adventure.

One of these adventures will involve a guy you meet for what you think will be a casual brunch date. You will fall deeply for his wit and kindness and strength. He will love all of you, even the pieces you’re still learning to love about yourself. One evening, you will make a promise to love him for the rest of your life, and you will mean it more than you’ve meant anything else. You will let him stare right into your eyes for a long time without turning away. As you begin contemplating having children with this guy, you will keep trying to make the world the kind of place you want for them. While you would hope that world would be one without violence or abuse, you will settle for a world in which no one ever has to feel they “asked for it.”

Cheers, kiddo. Take care of yourself.

LB

LB Klein, MSW has dedicated her career to ending gender-based violence, supporting survivors, and advancing social justice. She is a researcher, educator, and consultant based in Atlanta, Georgia and serves as a lead trainer for Prevention Innovations Research Center. She and her partner will be relocating to North Carolina this summer, where she will be pursuing her doctorate in social work at UNC-Chapel Hill. You can follow her on Twitter @LB_Klein. 

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All About Intimate Partner Violence About Intimate Partner Violence Advocacy Ambassadors Children Churches College Campuses Cultural Issues Domestic Violence Awareness Month Financial Recovery How To Help A Friend Human Rights Human-rights Immigrants International Media Overcoming Past Abuse Overcoming-past-abuse Parenting Prevention Resources For Survivors Safe Relationships Following Abuse Schools Selfcare Self-care Sexual Assault Sexuality Social Justice Social-justice Stigma Supporting Survivors Survivor Quotes Survivor-quotes Survivor Stories Teen Dating Violence Trafficking Transformative-approaches