By Autumn Kirkham
lifeatstart.com reporter
Did you know that one in ten high school students have been purposely slapped, hit, or punched by their girlfriend or boyfriend? From a personal experience, it’s hard to get out of these kinds of situations. When you really love a person, you find it hard to let them go no matter the circumstances. I was in that position for over a year. I could never find a way out because no matter what was done to me, mentally or physically, I always found reasons to stay. Although, later on in my life I got to a point I started to realize things would never change and if I stayed it’d only make it worse.
Being in a toxic relationship messes you up mentally. So, I started to not really care about myself and forgot how to love myself. Even though in my head I didn’t think it was possible to move on, I did. It is possible to do it, you just have to want to do it. When you finally get away from something that has been putting you down for so long, not even realizing you slowly lost yourself, it is a good feeling. I want people my age, even older, girls and boys, to know they are human. I think every human should be treated equal and it is important to love yourself; because when you can’t love yourself, how could you ever love someone else? You may think you love them but until you truly love yourself, that’s when it becomes something real.