Reclaiming Your Power
There comes a moment in every healing journey when you realize you are no longer surviving. You are rising.
That moment doesn’t always look like a grand breakthrough. Sometimes, it looks like getting out of bed on a day when everything hurts. Sometimes, it looks like saying no when your old self would’ve folded. And sometimes, it’s simply choosing yourself—even when it feels like the hardest thing to do.
For a long time, I didn’t feel powerful. I felt broken. Controlled. Silenced. My life felt like it belonged to everyone else but me. I let fear lead. I let shame hush my voice. And I handed over pieces of myself trying to be enough for people who never saw my worth.
But piece by piece, I started taking myself back. In the quiet moments. In the brave ones. In the messy middle. That’s what reclaiming your power looks like. It’s not about never falling—it’s about rising every single time you do.
Reclaiming your power is saying:
I am not what happened to me.
I am what I choose to become.
It’s setting boundaries that protect your peace. It’s speaking your truth even when your voice shakes. It’s healing out loud. Loving yourself fiercely. And walking away from anything that asks you to dim your light.
One of the most powerful ways I reclaim my own power is by speaking on the Survivors Against Violence panels for domestic and sexual violence. As a survivor of both, I use my voice to speak directly to offenders, something that surprises a lot of people. They say, "I don’t know how you do that. I could never do that, you are so strong. That’s got to be so hard." And yes, it is hard. But it’s also deeply therapeutic.
When I walk into that room, I know I’ll likely never see those people again. And that gives me the freedom to speak my raw, unfiltered truth. I tell them everything, what happened to me, how it changed me, how it shattered parts of my life. I don’t hold back. I don’t worry about sparing their feelings. I want them to see my pain. I want them to feel the weight of it.
And they do. You can see it on their faces. You can read it in the comment cards. You can feel it in the stillness of the room when grown men are crying. Speaking to offenders has become a way of bringing something good out of something that was once so terrible. It is power. It is healing. It is transformation.
If you’re still in the thick of it, know this—your power is not lost. It’s still inside you. Maybe buried. Maybe bruised. But never gone.
Take it back.
One decision at a time.
One truth at a time.
One breath at a time.
You’ve survived long enough.
Now it’s time to rise.
If you are a survivor of domestic violence or sexual violence and feel called to share your voice, I invite you to reach out. We are always looking for more brave souls to join us on these panels. If you're interested in becoming a speaker, I’ll gladly connect you with our director. Your story has power. Your voice matters. And someone out there needs to hear it.
With love,
Christina