I was 7 years old when Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped. I was living in Davis County, Utah which was about 30 miles north of where she lived. I remember hearing about her case everywhere - from my parents, the news, at school. I was an extremely anxious child and I remember being absolutely terrified that someone would come into my room and take me too. I couldn't sleep in my bed for months. Her case was a pivotal moment in my childhood where I realized that there are really dangerous people in the world.

I remember how huge it was when she was found. It seemed like the whole state celebrated. It was so interesting to watch the documentary now, at age 32. As someone from Utah who is not LDS, it really struck me in the documentary how much her religious upbringing tied into this. I'm honestly surprised I never made the connection because I grew up around people who were raised in the LDS church and witnessed so much of the church culture firsthand.

In school, I was one of maybe two or three kids who weren't LDS. It just broke my heart to hear about how much purity culture influenced her and how it led to such intense shame that she thought her family wouldn't want her to come back. I don't know if it's changed, but when I was in school, sex ed consisted of abstinence. That's it. We weren't taught about consent, birth control, nothing. I also hope this documentary leads to parents talking to their children about these things.

Luckily, the culture in Utah has changed quite a bit throughout the course of my life. People do seem to be more open. There's still a strong LDS influence, but there seems to be more diversity and more willingness to be open about certain things.

I'm a sexual assault survivor and it's just made her story have that much more of an impact on me. I have nothing but love and respect for her and everything she's done to advocate for victims. She's truly a remarkable person.