SPEAK UP!

A rose and a chocolate bar is not an apology, it’s not an apology for years of abuse and violence. It’s not an apology for all the scars he caused, each scar telling a different story, a story of how you defended him over and over again, to your friends, to your family and each time you have an excuse to cover up for his mistakes. See, it doesn’t matter if it’s been ten years or fifteen and you are scared of starting over and wondering if you’ll ever rebuild your life, walk away. Walk away from toxic people, from toxic places that make you detest your existence. Start over, with all your broken pieces, build an empire.

And it’s okay to be scared, to wonder if anyone will believe your story, tell it anyway,  and say it loud. It doesn’t matter if it takes years to find your voice, speak up when you do and fight with every bit of your soul for the justice that you truly deserve. And you don’t have to fight this alone, seek help, from friends, from family, there’s always a way out so speak up, voice trembling, hands shaking, do it afraid.

Violence doesn’t know gender or race, it doesn’t pick the strong hearted, anyone can be a victim so drop all the society taught values and speak up. Black or white, male or female, you are a person, you are vulnerable, you break down, and all these make you human. We live in a society that upholds gender roles so much that we forget to take care of our own (this is a story for another day) so drop society’s expectations of what should be and seek help. Someone once said how many times will you be stabbed because you love the person holding the knife and this is a gentle reminder to choose yourself.