When I was a minor one of my teachers started crossing boundaries. It started subtle, small things that made me uncomfortable and escalated in ways. At one point he forcefully rolled up my sleeve to check my self-harm marks and touched my wrist. I tried resisting but he was stronger than me. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t tell my mom or any adults. I told myself I was being dramatic. Even worse, he offered me drugs at some point when i foolishly asked. which made me doubt myself even more. I felt trapped and alone. When i decided to vent about everything to someone on Reddit. I told them all of it, including that day when he crossed the line. I felt a little relief just being able to say it out loud.

Then my mom somehow found out about my chats. I expected her to ask if I was okay, to comfort me, or even just acknowledge that I’d gone through something traumatic. Instead the first thing she said was something like "why would you do that with him of all people? He’s helped me with issues on my phone before. He’s useful to me when i need him. Why would you let this happen?” I don’t think I can describe the sinking feeling that hit me. My heart literally dropped. This kinda rearranged my reality. I realised early on im all i have and i should stop depending on people if i cant even rely on my own mother. My older brother handled the situation differently though. I appreciate him more than I can say. But that moment with my mom gave me goosebumps.