Think about your childhood bedroom- even if it's not the same bedroom you have now. Think about the color you had your walls painted, think about your bed and the pattern of your comforter, think about the toys you had in there and think about how to you, it was the safest place in the world.

Think back to all the play dates you had in there, or all the times you'd come home from school and jump right into your bed. Imagine all the times you escaped to your bedroom because your dolls or your action figures never forced you to do your math homework or wash the dishes.

But now, imagine only enjoying the sanctity of your room because its the only place you won't be scared, or the only place where you can't hear the yelling. Think about the corners of your childhood bedroom, or think about the size of your closet. Could you hide in there? Or could you fit under the bed? Imagine hiding there, covering your ears and muffling your breathing so no one knows you're there.

Picture your bedroom as a battlefield, it's you against a force so much bigger than you. And after all, you're just a kid, so you're going to lose the battle every single time.

Now think about every time you felt powerless and how soul-crushing that feeling can be sometimes. Now imagine that feeling to be hanging over you every single day, and how exhausting it can be.

Now imagine any child in your life; whether they're your siblings or your younger cousins, or if you work at a daycare or babysit, and imagine them feeling this way. Imagine them battling a situation so much bigger than them.

And picture them helpless, picture them not even understanding the way their being physically hit, punched, and tortured is a problem or the way they're horribly spoken to is a problem. They're too short to stand tall enough on the safe grounds they deserve, so its time for us to do it.

Bruises go away. They'll fade and the physical pain goes away eventually. But the rest of their lives they will question what they did to deserve the abuse.

They'll have nightmares and they'll never feel comfortable playing sports because someone charging at them is horrifying. Being touched will become a daily struggle, even if they're being hugged or if someones goes for a high five they'll flinch. They'll flinch every time. They'll flinch at the movements of someone speaking with their hands and they'll flinch at any movement that is abrupt.

And when someone yells they will have to walk away because that vision of a red face and angry eyes will bring back too many familiar and terrifying ones.

They'll picture themselves finding the "safe" corners of their bedroom or hiding in the closet. They'll be grown and still remember the feeling of tears falling down their face because their hands were preoccupied muffling their ears or blocking the blows to their face.

I know all of this because I live it every day. But my bruises faded so you wouldn't even know... right? Being touched is close to my least favorite thing and I flinch at the smallest movements. I flinch when my best friends speak with their hands and back away whenever someone is standing too close to me. My breathing becomes short and my mind spews thoughts faster than I can even understand. I hate sports because the violence involved in them brings me my worst memories and I absolutely can't deal with the idea of someone hugging me too tight because what if I can't get away?

Fear consumes my life, even though I am in the safest place I could be and even though I am now tall enough to stand high on my own safe ground.

But even at 19, I remember those nights where blows to the face or blows to the gut were in my bedtime routine and even at 19, I still have nights where I wake up in cold sweats from nightmares. The memories haunt me and they're haunting every other child abuse victim, too.

No one deserves to feel that way. Children are supposed to be loved and nurtured, they're our future. They should be playing on playgrounds and being stress-free. They have greatness in them and no one holds a right to take that greatness and that sparkle away from them.

Understand child abuse, and do something to stop it. Look for the signs, protect our youth.

To take a stand or get help.