Thankful.

I am struggling (and not just struggling to type this post because there is a cat on my lap gnawing my arm).

I am struggling with a lot of things. I'm 26 and still live at home with my parents. I feel like a burden.

I am struggling with the realization that some of my closest friends are hardly even friends anymore. I hardly see them. Some make plans that always fall through for some reason or another. Some are too busy with new found love. Some live so far away they just can't be here.... I feel so utterly alone most of the time.

I am struggling as I see everyone around me getting the only things I've ever cared about... engagements, weddings, babies. I try not to be jealous, but I am. Its hurts.

I am struggling with the rape. Every night is a nightmare where his smirk looms over me and I relive every graphic details I try to hard to forget. I struggle because I am stuck with all of this - the countless emotional scars, the flashbacks from the tiniest trigger, the fear of parties or even small get together or anyone drinking, the nightmares, the coming and going feeling of how violated I was, the constant feeling of being damaged goods... while he walks free and feels no remorse. Some days the feeling of violation is as fresh as the moment it happened. Some days I want nothing more that to cover myself in loose sweats and a hoodie because the mere thought of a man looking at me in a sexual way is just too violating.I struggle to love myself, to consider myself as strong as everyone says I am when I didn't even have the strength to scream for help... looking back I know that was best, I may have very well died that night had I done so, and my now boyfriend would have nearly beat the rapist to death and be in jail for it. I try not to be so hard or myself, I was scared and for some of it I was numb as if I left my body.... but it's hard to not blame myself when he is free to violate someone else the way he did me. Would my life have been worth that? To save another girl or woman from suffering the way I do everyday?

I struggle with my hallucinations, which are strong these days thanks to all the stress. I struggle with the panic attacks that happen daily now. I struggle because so few understand. I struggle because my extended family judges me... and my understanding parents. I want so badly to explain to them everything I go through on a daily basis. I want to tell them of the rape. Maybe then they would understand.

Through all this I try to remain thankful. I am thankful for my family, who is so understanding of everything I deal with. I am Thankful for my boyfriend who just holds me while I cry on the days I really struggle and does everything he can to make everyday good. I am thankful for my cats... Eli who is always my baby, Calypso who is psychotic and only likes me about 10% of the time. I am thankful to all the support I have gotten since starting Kenhorst Cats. I'm thankful my parents have been so supportive, allowing me to take in strays while I try to find them homes and letting me keep Anchovy. I am thankfully for Kenhorst Cats in general as it keeps me busy and keeps my mind from slipping to the darker thoughts too often. I am Thankful for Anchovy, she was basically feral, but now she is my lap cat and sleeps with me every night. She greets me every morning or anytime I come into my room with a playful and excited chirp. I am thankful for Honey, who is one of the snuggliest cats I've ever known, and thankful for my boyfriend and his mom for taking her in for me. I am thankful for my true friends who are there for me every time they can be. I am thankful for my sister who is always there for me and truly is my other half.

When I struggle I try to remind myself of all the good. Nothing will ever make up for the rape... but there are still good things in life, and you just have to focus on those during the tough times. There is always something to be thankful for.