I remember enough to know there was a lot wrong when I was younger. I was never safe. And I had no one. I was alone year after year after year.

But my teachers kept me alive, kept me going.

Ms. Hughes was my fourth-grade teacher. She wrote a nice note on my report card. I hoped she would adopt me somehow.

Mrs. Yeary was one of my middle school math teachers. She put her hand on my shoulder one time and called me her girl. In front of the whole class. Something like that. Her kindness kept me going for another year.

My eighth-grade Gifted & Talented teacher. One of the first strong women I looked up to. She may never know how much her presence kept me going.

My ninth-grade English teacher had us write every week. So much stuff was happening in my life at that time. I tried to be vague but I guess I was still putting down enough that concerned her. I think she saw that I was hurting. She kept me after class one day and asked me if everything was ok, if I needed help. But it wasn’t safe for me to tell her. Either way, her concern kept me alive for another day. And she was the first one to inspire my writing.

A similar thing happened in tenth grade. Again, my English teacher. The one who commended my writing in front of the whole class. Used my paper as an example for them. One day she also pulled me aside. She brought me out into the hallway and asked what was going on. Again, I couldn’t tell her. I was all locked up inside. It was too dangerous to risk disclosing.

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Music I’m listening to, discovered, or rediscovered.

1. Annie Lennox – Walking on Broken Glass
2. Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre, Queen Pen – No Diggity
3. Bonnie Raitt – Something To Talk About
4. Kris Kross – Jump
5. Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People
6. Nirvana – Lithium
7. PM Dawn – Die Without You
8. Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
9. Tom Cochrane – Life Is A Highway
10. Wreckx-n-Effect – Rump Shaker