Step Away From The Barbies

If you had told me a year ago who I would be today I doubt I would have believed you.  I was so beaten down, defeated and insecure that I could never imagine I'd ever be truly happy again.  I never imagined I would get on with my life.  I never imagined I would find so much strength within myself.   I've never told anyone, but for a while, I blamed myself over what happened. I replayed everything in my mind and made excuses for why he must have hit me.  If I hadn't done x, y and z it never would have happened.  Then I woke up one day, in my new house and my new life and realized, it wasn't my fault.  Sure, I made mistakes in my marriage but I could not take blame for the fact that he hit me. That he knocked me upside the jaw with a full 20 oz bottle of Mountain Dew. That he bounced my head off the steering wheel of my car.  That he choked me.  And that he looked at me like he wanted me dead and headbutted me. That was not my fault.  A...

"Your hair matches what you are."  A direct quote and I'm still not sure what it means.  It's been almost a year since the "incident".  It sounds so cliche to say, I never thought it would happen to me, but, I never thought it would happen to me.  Never in a million years did I think I would become a victim of domestic violence.  Although, looking back, I guess I had been a victim in one form or another for a long time.  But I never thought it would escalate to the point of physical abuse.  I was so wrong, but I can honestly say, I'm  thankful it happened. I'm not thankful for the fear I felt, but I'm thankful that I had that moment that made me open my eyes, see his true colors and know that I had no choice but to get out.  I live life believing everything happens for a reason, and I know without a doubt what that reason was. A year later I've reinvented my life.  I'm in a new home where I feel safe.  I'm happier.  I'm a b...