*please be advised that the contents below on this page contain discussion of assault, trauma and abuse as that is what biggest day involves. please read at your own discretion*

i don’t really like talking about myself, as all i aspire to do in life is help people.

help people heal, help people learn, help people with their struggles and make sure they know they aren’t completely alone is this life.

however, today marks a special day.

not special in the sense that it is a better or greater day, like an anniversary or birthday to celebrate love,

but a special day in the sense that it was like a rebirth.

a day that fundamentally changed me,

a day that altered me completely.

it was the day i finally came out about my assault.

today marks 2 years since i went to the police station to make my statement of what had happened.

about someone i had to see everyday.

about something i had been keeping to myself for 6 months.

when i think back, i have no idea if i would of ever told the police, or anyone as a matter of fact, if circumstances would had been different.

but when i came home from work that day, i instantly knew it was time.

i needed to protect my mum.

today marks 2 years.

yet not a single sad tear filled my eyes.

the only tears that blurred my eyesight were ones of proudness.

proud for how far i have come.

proud for the person i have become.

i always thought this day would hold sadness.

that each year it came round i would feel nothing but melancholy.

but that is far from the feeling i hold today.

i will now mark this day as a day to celebrate.

to celebrate the friendships i have created,

the accomplishments i have achieved.

the dreams i keep on chasing,

the person i have grown to be.

but most importantly, that my family is now free.

you took a piece of me with your greed.

and for a while, that piece you took was merely a void.

but with time, i filled it back up and made it complete.

if i would of told the scared, fragile young girl who was sitting in the detectives office,

that this is what her life would look like 2 years from now,

i doubt she would of believed it.

it just goes to show that you never know how your journey will be.

so wherever you are on your healing journey,

please have faith and keep on learning.

self discovery and healing is never ending,

they are life long adventures and that the beauty of it.

each day that comes is filled with exploration,

constantly learning and growing from the person you were.

but remember that our journeys are not linear,

they go up and down and all around.

be proud of who you are and who you’re becoming,

because as each day passes you’re growing as a person,

that is one thing i know for certain.

-MAO

don’t give trauma the power to control you, you deserve to live how you want. take control of your trauma.

-life advice from one survivor to another