Throughout the domestic violence situation, I knew I didn’t want to be there. My body was there, but my soul wasn’t. It was detached from the situation. I kept praying, ‘God, give me the strength to get out of this. I know I should not accept this person. I should not love this person, but I do.’ It was like a stronghold keeping me there to be abused.
So I kept praying, and God gave me strength. He aligned people to come to me and speak a word because I was so ashamed that I didn’t want anyone to know what I was going through. I made an undercover plan to escape and I got out of the situation. But even before then, just being here on campus, seeing the people and laughing a little while, gave me some relief from the situation.
When my son was born, it was my second chance at life. I knew I wanted to be committed and finish what I started. I wanted to take my life back and do the things that would inspire him. So I finished my degree in criminal justice and correctional services here in 2018. Then, I got into graduate school in the School of Public Health.
I would tell anyone that may be in a domestic violence situation that they should think about what they want five to ten years from now. Do you still want to be abused? Do you still want to hate yourself? Know that you deserve better, and know that you can rise out of that situation.”
– Jessica, master’s student in behavioral health and education from Ruston, La.
