I'm 19. When I was 13 to 16 I was in an abusive relationship and even reported, where the trail/case got dismissed since "my" lawyer didn't think it would go anywhere. The judge wanted punishment for my perpetrator.

Last year I overdosed, which gave me 6 seizures as I passes out unconscious and cracked my head open on the cement bathroom floor at a baseball game. I was in the ICU and hospital for a total of 16 days, of which I only remember 3 of them. I was vegetable on oxygen. I could be dead, in a wheelchair, paralyzed, in a care facility for the rest of my life, or brain damaged. Here I am, better than I was before.

I had a lot of times where I wanted nothing to do with men. I couldn't even make eye contact with them. Fast forward to now, I'm a CNA working 50 to 60 hours a week and starting nursing school in August after a year old pre nursing.

I struggled with body image issues after my abuse, because I was told I was never good enough. I learned to love myself and accept what I have, because you have to love yourself before anyone else.

To celebrate my healing I got a little photoshoot to celebrate how far I've come. And I honestly love where I am and who I've became. From being 19 months clean from cutting to decreasing my antidepressant doseage, life is good. Time heals everything.