Arriving at school earlier and earlier every day until I finally realized that for me, this is my safe place. Here my strengths have been acknowledged, encouraged, celebrated. My home, which should have been my refuge became a place where I felt myself demeaned and used, everything about me seen as a threat which needed to be subjugated beneath the demands of others.

At the school where I work, our students are encouraged to find the best within them and their successes are celebrated daily.....with smiles and hugs...sometimes a shiny smiling sticker or a brand new pencil. That spirit spills over to me and I feel my dreams blossoming.....gently coaxed into blooming. Here I can literally feel my strength, my will, my purpose, growing stronger day by day.