You don't deserve the anger you're turning on yourself. Your abuser's the one who does.

I know you're upset, I know you're scared, but don't walk away.

I think you've got to get out whatever's hurting you through your art, so it doesn't twist you up inside.

I know I'm not to blame for what he did. And I know, too, that I am strong inside--stronger than I ever realized.

If I want to get out of here, I have to be the one to save myself.

Other times, I look at my scars and see something else: a girl who was trying to cope with something horrible that she should never have had to live through at all. My scars show pain and suffering, but they also show my will to survive. They're part of my history that'll always be there.