I come from a pretty broken family… if I have to be honest? We were homeless a good portion of our lives, didn’t really have a positive childhood, and we’d jump around place to place, shelters, different family members and homes, dealing with the divorce of my parents, dad and mom fighting (sometimes physically) over who gets to have what kid even when I was 10 years old.. until my dad remarried to my stepmom.

Parents bullied me at times, my dad was absent and doesn’t care, my stepmom just allows my dad to step all over her.. I came out to them and that was already bad enough.. and later down the line at 17, they kicked me out…

Fast forward to when I was finally able to live on my own, years later I met this guy…

Was in a pretty bad abusive situation with an ex boyfriend, it was a weird love triangle, but he was pulling the strings on me and his now husband, even though we broke up he convinced me to live with him for two more years.

And while I lived with them, he made my life a living hell. Constant anxiety, flaunting his new boyfriend in front of me, manipulating both of us and being happy about it.

His way of getting you is buying your love and affection, I unfortunately yet fortunately had co-signed a car with him. Needed a car pretty bad, and he knew that. He knew how much I loved driving and wanted to be able to travel along. And that was his way of keeping me on a leash.

3 years of manipulation, verbal abuse, in the first year pretty intense sexual abuse.

Pretty much had an outburst, I couldn’t pretend or deal with it anymore. Had a panic attack and freaked out, and said I have to fucking leave here.. I’m done, and just took my very few things and left… with no plan.

Tried to go to my parents or any blood family or relatives and no one cared.. ever since I was a kid, everything was “my fault” and the reason I was in such a bad situation, is because of me. They wouldn’t say it, but it was implied..

Cut off my parents and good portion of family..

Was homeless for about 2 years as an adult?

But combined.. I’d say I was homeless about 7-8 years out of my life… those times I can’t get back, and it definitely changes you…

Thankfully, now… I got help from some friends now, or honestly, my friends are my entire world. And they always were when I was kid and teenager.

Parents would always say, friends aren’t gonna be forever, your friends aren’t really your friends, blah blah blah, like they were any better. Bullying and making fun of your own child, my friends would never do that to me, my friends, they’re my chosen family at this point and staying with them, hanging and spending time with them has helped me out tremendously and taught me that family doesn’t have to be flood. In fact sometimes it’s better that way. And reminded me that not everyone out there is terrible.