“I used to sing that I was a survivor. Then I grew up and realized I really was one.”

When life goes from a downpour to a typhoon, anchor in hope, care for yourself, and love fiercely, our time together is not forever.

“Sometimes hope is the only thing we can hold when we can't control what happens next. So we hold it tightly.”

“Sometimes we don't go looking for the anthem. The anthem finds us, and reminds us there can be life on the other side of abuse.”

“I listened to ‘Fighter’ until I didn’t have to borrow its strength anymore. I finally found that strength inside myself.”

"The first step toward healing isn't having all the answers. Sometimes it's simply finding the courage to speak your truth."

"Healing isn't forgetting. It's realizing your past no longer controls your future—and making yourself strong again."

"She doesn't fix Elphaba's life. She simply chooses to stand beside the person everyone else has decided doesn't belong. Sometimes healing begins with someone willing to dance beside you."

Our scars don't make us unlovable. They remind us that we survived, and that we're still worthy of love.

"Surviving doesn't mean we stop being human. It means we kept going, and gave ourselves permission to heal."

As a child, I dreamed of justice. 'Goodbye Earl' reminded me that abuse wasn't normal and that survivors deserve better.

Stuck in my head, overthinking, second guessing, reliving the past. Healing means learning to quiet the noise.

"Strength isn't the absence of pain. Strength is choosing to continue despite it. The show must go on."

"The voices I heard as consciousness fled were the ones that carried me back to the light."

Leaving is an act of courage. Staying gone is an act of strength. Learning your worth again is an act of healing.

“Sometimes healing sounds loud. Sometimes healing sounds like standing in front of a microphone and finally letting yourself take up space.”

“The first time I heard ‘Butterfly Fly Away,’ I didn’t just hear a song about growing up. I heard the story of my mother surviving domestic violence and teaching me that even after trauma, we could still dream.”

A heartfelt Mother’s Day letter honoring a mother who survived domestic violence, rebuilt her life, and taught her daughter strength, resilience, and unconditional love.