Jennifer's Story
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| Photo contributed Jennifer Benda |
By Jennifer Benda
When I was 12, my parents got divorced and my older brother, younger sister and I stayed 70/30 (favoring mom) by default as a custody arrangement.
Within two years, both parents remarried and my siblings and I chose to live more with mom, since it was a more relaxed living environment (dad's wife had very young kids in comparison, and mom's husband had kids around all of ours ages).
The next four years proved to be quite interesting... My mom's husband apparently had a very lengthy report on his domestic violence tendencies. Clearly, I was not aware and my mom to this day believes it was all his crazy ex wife making up stories after he left her.
Shortly after they married, my mom's husband became physically abusive and "d day" hit our home the night before Valentine's Day. After scratching and bruising my mom's face, I moved out shortly after and never looked back.
I stayed with friends for the first couple weeks, and then my mom got an apartment for her and I to share until I was 18.
Once I turned 18, I moved out on my own, worked full-time and finished my senior year of high school... Now almost 5 years later, I've never turned back to the past and continue to build myself with no help of my family.
I currently run production for a management consulting firm, and have certainly come a long way from teary, fearful eyes of a 16 year old girl...
Now, life hasn't been all roses! I've gone from job to job and continue to work hard, and at the end of the day, I know that the fire that fuels me is that of spite and the inability to ever go back.
Editor's note: This story has been contributed by Jennifer Benda. You can share your story by emailing us at unaccompanied.youthdocumentary@gmail.com. You can also share your story anonymously by just letting us know you'd like to remain anonymous.
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