**** Disclaimer: this article was written anonymously by a fellow creator and posted by me, on their behalf. The views represented below do not necessarily apply to or are felt by me. However, as Editor-in-Chief of The Odyssey at JSU, I believe in the power of the written word and the courage it took to write a letter such as this (even anonymously). This is a raw, open, and emotional article about the struggles of emotional abuse in a relationship and I encourage everyone to read and share. ****

You were the first person I had ever been in a relationship with. We were, for lack of a better phrase, high-school sweethearts. The first six months of our relationship was perfect, but then it suddenly became something completely different.

You tried controlling me, and eventually you succeeded. You made me give up one of my biggest dreams, and I was stupid to let you. You made me lose friends. I stopped hanging out with them because every time I wasn’t with you, I was either cheating on you or ignoring you. You made me feel I was in the wrong.

I tried leaving you so many times, but every time I would, you would draw me back in by telling me that nobody else would want me. Even though I told you how many times I had tried and failed to better myself, you still used it against me to keep me in your grasp.

After a year of trying to find a way out of your grasp, I ended up in college, miles away from you. When I left, it was like our relationship was new. Our time apart was wonderful. You said it yourself, and you said you had never seen me that happy. I believed that we were working again. When I came home after my first month of college, we went on a date. It all went well till I talked about one of my guy friends. I left your house with a black eye.

You took my virginity. At the time, I wanted it. But you wanted sex to be almost daily. You would take control, and not in the good way. You gave me no choice. A year of this went on, then everything changed.

I got the courage to leave you. I haven’t seen or talked to you since, and I have never been more thankful. I learned a valuable lesson from you. From now on, I won’t sit around and take emotional abuse and physical and sexual abuse in the name of love. I will not let it happen to the people I care about. I won’t stand for it in ANY relationship.

It has been two years since I built up the courage to leave my abuser, and the scars and pain are still inside my head and body. It takes time to heal, but I guarantee that there is always a way out. If you or someone you know is being abused, do not keep it a secret. There is help out there for you, and you are not alone. You are never alone.

Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233