I am sharing my story today, hoping it can help someone.
I spent my first 5 years of life in Haiti, living with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I don’t remember much of it, I don’t even remember if I knew I had parents. My mom told me, later in life, that she had moved to Canada to go to school and find a job. She didn’t know where my dad was.
I moved to Canada and lived with my mom. It makes me sad to think about how I might have felt as a 5 year old that first night. Leaving all I knew behind and living with my mom who I had never really known. I remember starting 1st grade, I remember loving it and being excited to see my friends every morning.
My mother was good to me all my life, we didn’t have much, but we made it work. My teenage years were hard though. My mom worked evenings and I would go home to our apartment and watch TV until I fell asleep. I was very depressed. So lonely. I had friends at school, but had a lot of trouble with the work.
As high school approached, I heard more and more talk of university. I became overwhelmed. I wanted to have kids and give them a better life than I had, but I knew that meant going to university. I knew we could not afford it.
I was surprised when my grade 10 year turned out to be great. I had lots of friends, did better in school, and started volunteering to keep me busy.
I don’t remember exactly when, but sometime around grade 11, my mom finally told me her story. She told me when she was 16 years old, she was raped by her friend’s dad and uncle. Her friend never knew it happened. She told me how she was beaten by her parents when she told them she was pregnant. She left home and lived with her aunt. She to this day, does not know which one of the men she was raped by, is my father.
In the next 2 years, I felt terrible about myself. “My father is a rapist” I kept on thinking. I felt like I shouldn’t deserve to be alive. I felt like I was going to turn into something evil like my father.
I eventually started to find a relationship with God. Church was my safe place. I felt his presence all the time, and I really relied on him in my life. I was so thankful I found him.
My mom brought home a boyfriend when I was in grade 12. He beat me and my mom and she seemed to look past it. I was angry at her for that. I never let the beatings affect me though. I had God now.
My mom surprised me with a computer one day, I was so thankful to her for it. It helped me to finish grade 12 with an overall average of 81%. That was much more then you need to get into university at the time. I ended up getting 2 scholarships. One was for all the volunteer work I had done.
I went into university for phycology. University was even better then high school and I finally felt in control of things.
Fast forward 8 years later.. I am a certified phycologist, working with mostly children. I am married to the most amazing man. I am 4 months pregnant. We live in a beautiful house and are prepared to start a family.
I am not sure how I ended up so lucky. I have the most wonderful life.
I may not be the best story teller but I hope that even just one person can benefit from my story. I came from very little and had a hard life, but somehow, with God, I made it through.