A JOURNEY OF SELF DISCOVERY AS A SURVIVOR OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE. written by Matt October 30, 2016 I was only 5 years old when it began – just a child. I was an expressive busy yet serious little girl who loved to laugh, and sing around the house. To him, I was just somebody of his sickest circumstance. He always had his eyes on me and “the incidents,” as I refer to them now, became routine. So routine, that I thought it was normal. He touched me every opportunity he had. He didn’t care the time of day or who was home, all he needed was a five-minute window and he took advantage. I always felt dirty afterward, that I would shower with a Brillo pad till my skin was red and painful. I knew what he was doing was wrong but he always looked me in my eyes and told me never to tell. I kept his secret even when I wanted to tell, the gifts that I received kept me duped into quiet. Then one day, a few months before my 9th birthday, I finally told. He didn’t deny it, afterwa