Some say it takes a village to survive and thrive. But for someone trying to leave a horrible situation it just takes one at first. One solid person to come along side you and say I believe you, none of this was your fault. One who reaches out and shows you they care, and you are enough just the way you are. One who shows you what love and value mean with no strings attached. At first it is so hard to understand why someone would want to help you and walk alongside you without wanting anything from you or wanting to use your body. But all it takes is to be brave enough to just let that one-person in. Even letting them in when everything in your mind and body is telling you not to is a tough first step to take. It is scary and very vulnerable to open up and share your thoughts and fears. Trying to say just enough to give them a big picture idea and see if they are able to handle that before you share more horrific and disturbing things that have happened. I have been there and understand. I’m not going to lie it is not easy or fun by any means. If you were to ask me a year ago, heck even six months ago to be vulnerable enough to open up and even say one word of the secret they have conditioned me to keep, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. But you eventually get to a breaking point where you know deep down you can’t do it on your own anymore.
Taking the risk and letting just one person in was by far the best decision I have made for myself. It is only then that I could start to process and take steps forward. When you choose to let just one person in you slowly over time start thinking differently. You start to learn how to believe in yourself and trust again. You begin to realize that all those false realities were just that, false. It starts with just one person! One who is strong enough to stand up for what is right. One who is willing to put in the time and effort. One to understand it is messy and hard. One who is committed to follow through and shows you that you are not a loss cause. One who helps celebrate the wins and helps with options during the struggles. One that reassures you that your feelings are valid. One that makes you feel heard, believed, loved, and valued for maybe the first time in your life. One person to show you that there is hope to get past everything and become everything you never thought you could be and that you do have purpose.
One person can make the whole difference on if you can make it out or not. It means more than most would ever realize how much just one person can make a monumental change in someone’s life. It just takes one!