Use your experiences for strength - The Notebook
I'm diving in. Yes, it’s terrifying to expose the parts of me that have been buried for so long, but I believe you will understand how these pieces have shaped me into the person I am today. I share each of these bits to help you. I was around 10 when it all began—the "encounters." I was confused, caught between the love and trust of those closest to me, and the message they unknowingly taught me: that I was to be seen but never heard. My truth was something to be hidden, because somehow, I believed it was my fault. We moved, but the cycle continued. It wasn’t until I became a woman, around 12, that the encounters stopped. My sister, a silent strength, helped me navigate the changes of growing up, and in her own quiet way, she showed me that I wasn’t alone. When I tried to speak up, to tell an adult, I was told that it was just something that happened in every family. “Brush it under the carpet,” they said. I remember thinking, this can’t be right . Why didn’t someone t...