Wednesday, August 19, 2015

It Really Happened!

It’s a dream, I know it is a dream.

It has to be a dream.

In my dream, I have super powers.  I am strong, I am unbeatable, I am fierce.

In my dream I am safe and no one can hurt me.

No, it is not a dream.

I am weak, I have no fight, I am feeble, over powered.

I know this is not a dream because I can feel the pain, deep within, mentally, physically, I can feel the pain.

“What is this? I refuse to drink it, I won’t drink it.  This is too strong and what is that white stuff floating on top?”

“Stop acting like a baby, drink it, and take off your clothes!”
“Let me be, I don’t want it.”

I do nothing, refusing to give in.  I have to believe that he won’t hurt me again.  I want to believe, but know I really don’t.  After all, the last time he hurt me so bad, threatened me and scared me to death.  I knew if I didn’t do as he said, he would hurt me when he came for me.  This time I would go with him, without a fight.  I could not afford for him to show up unexpected.  If I refused, he would hurt me worse.  Just like before.  In my heart I had to believe doing as he said would save me the pain later.

“Michelle, I am tired of asking you.  Don’t make me force you.  I don’t want to hurt you, I just want to feel myself in you, for you to submit like a girlfriend should.”

“I am not your girlfriend!  I don’t want to do this, how many times do I have to tell you this?  You keep promising me you will leave me alone but each time you hurt me worse than before and you still threaten me and force me to do this.  I don’t want to do this!”

“Fine, I guess I will send the video to your husband in the mail.  Once I put it in the mail, I cannot take it back.  Your husband will see it and will think that you are having an affair with me.  No one will know how drunk and drugged you were, they will just see you submitting to me and letting me take you.  You can’t even tell that I raped and drugged you.”

“Please don’t, please don’t hurt me anymore.  I will listen, I won’t fight back, I will do ask you ask, just don’t hurt me anymore.”

No matter how much I plea, it means nothing.  He has the intention to do as he pleases.  The more fight, the worse the choke, the worse the hit, the more I have to beg and squirm to keep my hands from being tied behind me.  The first taste of the drink, instantly making me gag. It burns as it goes down my throat.  The white stuff has not mixed well. I can taste the powdery taste, I just know it is some type of pill.  No different from the last time.  But, like before, I still did not know what it was.  I was hoping this time he would tell me the truth.  At least I would know.

I fight because I cannot take another sip. 

“Michelle, you are wasting my time.  The faster you submit and let me have you, the faster you will be able to go home.”.

As he begins coming back towards me I see that hard blue plastic wrap again.  I move away and he begins to fight me, trying to tie my hands.”

“Okay, I will listen, please don’t tie me up again!”

“Drink it, drink it faster Michelle.  Take your damn clothes off or I will do it for you.”

I slowly begin removing my clothes.  I could feel my body trembling all over.  I hate what is about to happen again.  I hate I am too weak.

“Drink some of this.” He brings the straw to my face.  I push it away, but not before he grabs my wrist, squeezing it tight.

“I can’t, it is too strong, what is this stuff.”

“Something that will make you submit, calm you down so you can enjoy me deep inside you.”

“Leave me alone, I can’t.  You promised me you would not make me drink anything anymore. .

“Scared, I beg to go to the bathroom.  I stay in for what seems like only less than a minute. I suddenly hear him call to me, telling me he has given me enough time, come out and submit to him.

I wait a little longer and tell him I am not done and don’t feel well, but that only makes him angrier.  I can tell by his voice that he is not willing to wait anymore.  Reluctantly I come from the bathroom, still naked, holding my arms tightly around my body. 

“Hurry up and get over here.”

I hurry to the bed, quickly trying to get the covers wrapped around me, but just as I pull them up to cover my body, he pulls them off of me, pulls me to the floor, and puts his hand around my neck.  In fear, I quickly pull both of my hands to his one to keep him from choking me, but his grip just becomes tighter. 

“Michelle, let go and drink this, don’t make me hurt you.”

I am tired of fighting, so I take a sip, I don’t want to chance what might happen if I keep resisting.  Slowly I could feel my body weaken.  I could tell my thoughts were becoming hazy.  My sight was blurry and I was becoming very limp. 

“Drink some more, faster!”

I am not sure how much time had passed, but at points I could feel myself coming in and out of it.  I kept telling myself to fight it, fight a little harder.  I could remember small periods of him inside me, whispering in my ear.  Not sure what he was whispering sometimes, while other times I could hear him tell me, “you feel so good Michelle.  That is right, you are my girlfriend, my whore, my sex slave. I am going to have you whenever I want.  You are going to learn to submit to me and worship my cock.”

The one vivid memory I could remember (now) was waking up with him on top of me.  He was biting at my neck bone saying how beautiful it was.  He noticed that I had come to a bit and he said, “you were so good, you are going to be a good girlfriend.” 

At that point he told me to get up and “suck my cock, worship my cock.”  I started to cry and begged him to leave me alone.  At that point he got angry and asked why wasn’t I being a good sex slave, he treated me good, I was a good girlfriend, we would make a great couple.  I remember turning my head towards the door and that is when I saw it.  The camcorder on a stand, pointing straight my way.  When I went to push him away, he grabbed me by my arms to the floor.  I just remember fighting him, asking him why he was doing this.  I asked him why when he promised me he wouldn’t tape me or take pictures again. 

All the while, pushing my face towards his penis, telling me that he needed something to watch in between him seeing me and to make sure I remembered he could always send the video to my husband if I tried not to see him and not be an obedient girlfriend. 

I remember thinking to myself (I still do) how he could say in the same sentence that I was his girlfriend and his sex slave.  How in the world did those two make sense in the same sentence?

I was trying to push him away, I was determined that I was going to get out.  At this point, what did I have to lose?  Absolutely nothing.  Who cared that I was naked?  I was already on tape, this time and before.  He already had pictures of me.  

The fact was, I had not escaped!


Monday, August 17, 2015

I Pray To You!

No matter how many roadblocks I come across, I pray to You!

No matter how much I lose hope, I pray to You!

No matter how many times I want to give up, I pray to You!

Some days, some moments, You are the only one that keeps me focused, humble and safe.

Today, this moment is one of those days I lean on You, pray for Your guidance and truly believe that their is Your coat, shielding me from any external or internal harm!

Today, I pray to You to help me see the light and believe that their is comfort and hope, no matter how bad it feels, no matter how little faith I have!

Today, I pray to You!

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Loving Myself, Liking Myself

There is a difference of laying around and feeling self-pity vs. exhaustion because of an extremely busy schedule.

As tired as I am, I would love to just lay on this damn couch and watch TV, I just have too much going on in my life right now.  Mostly good, but then other crap I have to deal with and work on to get resolved.  Regardless, realizing how much procrastinating I was doing, I realized I needed to get myself up and  get productive so I can have a productive week.  So many things to do, so little time.  If I do what I need to do today, it will make the week that much smoother.

Anyway, I am organizing my schedule and while I am trying to practice mindfulness, I started to feel nostalgic.  Thinking of all things that have gone on with me over the last year and a half.  Some good, some bad.  Funny and thankful though that the thoughts were about the good things this time instead of the bad things, and how those positive things would help uplift my spirit if I allowed them to.

The point of this?  Wondering how much I love myself, like myself and whether I am truly my toughest critic.  Wondering what makes me happy, why I do the things I do and what the hell do I want to do.  

I absolutely love my volunteering activities.  BUT, what am I getting out of it?  I do them because I love to help, I love the positive impact on my children, other children, and the community at-large.  After all, it is what I know.  I grew up in a family that volunteered in the community and schools.  You are what you know.  

Unfortunately things change because of situations that are sometimes out of your control.  I know though that everything happens for a reason.  What I have endured I think is more than just what had happened.  I think the aftermath and the continued effects of it all is my Higher Being forcing me to stop and take care of me.  My Higher Being knows that I needed to take care of Michelle because I was allowing my volunteer activities and busy schedule the opportunity to hide from my feelings, not face the real Michelle, put on a facade so I didn't have to see who I really was, understand who I really was and work on Michelle. 

While craziness and trauma was happening to me, I was able to hide in my volunteering.  I was trying to be in control of my life, be in control of anything and everything I could. BUT, I was so out of control.  I was not in control of anything.  My inability to look at myself and work on myself was more detrimental to me than any good I was doing in the school and community.  AND, how good of a job was I really doing at that point?  Not much?  Especially when it came to taking care of me.  How could I be any good to anyone or anything else if I was no good to myself?

So, yes, I am still going to do some things, but they will be VERY minimal, at an arms length and with evaluation of who and what I am doing it for.  It is time to be selfish to take care of myself and my family.  If it has no direct impact on me and mine, I have to let it go.  That does not mean that I don't care or I am selfish.  It just means that I am being realistic about what I can and cannot due. 

I am no one's superwoman.  I am just like so many other people and have to focus on me and my family.  

Do I love myself?  Do I like myself?  Honestly, not at this time.  I don't hate myself, I just don't like the person I look at in the mirror.  However, I am working on it.  Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second.  

One bite at a time, I will peel the layers and learn to love and like myself once again.    I know I am a good person.  I just have to see what others see in myself and that begins with doing the work.  Day by day, all day long, no matter how hard it is to do sometimes.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Remembering the Good Times

When I am at my lowest, especially in crisis mode, I need to remember the positive things that have happened in my life.  I also need to remember the good times I have experienced.  It is not easy during these times, but I realize if I want to get out of that crisis mode and get myself to a better, "safe" place, this is what I need to do.

Girl Scouts:
The many destinations I traveled with my Girl Scout troops throughout the year, out of state, in state and even out of the country.  Lifetime experiences, seeing new things, meeting new, wonderful people with a lifetime of friendships.

Being a Girl Scout since I was in first grade, it was an honor and so rewarding to receive my Girl Scout Gold Award.

School
I remember the day I graduated high school a year early. Now a days it might not be much of a big deal, but when I did it, it was not one that happened to many times, and it was one of the times that I really felt truly successful.

Acceptance into 12 of my 13 universities I applied to, very "prestigious" schools ranked high in the US

Family
Meeting, dating, and then marrying my "knight & shining armor."

The birth of each of my three children.

Other
Buying my first home with my husband and moving out of state to NC

Finding a great job that I had for 4 years - lots of experiences, opportunities, growth

Returning to school to pursue my Associates degree and making the Dean's list.  Though I am not done, it has been great and I look forward to completing my degree and continuing on to finish my bachelor's degree

There are of course other events that have happened throughout my lifetime, but for now, these are the ones that I will look at when I am feeling at my lowest and need a jolt to help me get out of my funk.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

The Beautiful Picture of my Footprints

Our footprints that we leave in our paths are like our fingerprints. 

No duplicates, each footprint, our own experiences.

Comparing your footprints to others left on the path, such a waste of energy,

Our choices, our response to different events, people and things that we encounter allow our footprints to be our own.

No room for duplication by others.

Appreciate and reflect on your own footprints,

Do not get trapped in following behind others step by step. 

Follow footprints only as a guide as you not know the meaning of those footprints you wish to follow.

Take what you can, only the positive and most uplifting and leave all else alone.

No judgement, no opinions, just the beauty of watching all the footprints you come to encounter.

Watch the different footprints, small, large, incomplete, slightly erased and some maybe complete,

Appreciate the beauty of those footprints.

All the individual footprints make a beautiful picture.

A picture of self-perseverance, strength, and courage.

Footprints in the sand are meant to wash away, each morning as we wake, we have been given a chance to find a different direction we want our footprints to walk.


Who knows who is admiring the different footprints in the sand, hoping the picture is never complete.

Leave your own footprints, meant to be as unique as your fingerprints.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

When We Decide

When we decide that we are ready, we become ready.

There is no stopping us from reaching that goal, working through all the heartache and agony of what might or might not come ahead.

When we decide that we are ready, we are unstoppable.  We are a being yet to be defined, but readily pulled and grabbed at all directions because we are unstoppable.

We are a being, so fierce, so confident, so attracted by others because she is a being that is unstoppable.

There is this uneasy, exciting, and at the same time, calming feeling of being me.  Being free and being me. 

Not today, but at this moment,I am ready.  

Ready for what?

I have no idea.

Regardless, I feel a little bit of happiness, I feel a bit lighter today, I actually feel and can be okay with those feelings today.  

Because today I decided to live and be free and happy with me!