“There is more positivity than negativity.  Being a survivor does not mean that everything is about the traumas that we have endured.   How big of a change it is to go from being in life to be out of it.  Yet, we are able to see more than survive.  We can engage in the future.  We can see the world around us embrace new things and new experiences.”

“It takes a lot of people to help someone come back to life and to experience life again.  It takes a connection.  It takes a connection with people.  It takes connection with God or your Higher Power.  It takes a connection with yourself.  It takes a lot of reflection. Survivors are just normal people going through everyday life, and trying to make a little difference.”

Perseverance, new life and new beginnings, self-care, little moments and little achievements, learning to find beauty in the little victories, security, independence, a visual picture of difficulty engaging in the “square” world, new experiences, trying and learning new things, survivors giving back and having passion to help others, visual picture of the realities, empowerment, able to be present in the moment but engaging in the future, different respect and empathy than most people have, she sees more deeply and does not overlook someone else’s sadness and the reality, able to see something abstract, able to see things and appreciate it:

“To someone else, it may seem bland, but she sees flowers she hasn’t smiled in years, a ball to play and have fun with, and she is able to think for herself and see what she wants to see and sit down on a bench if she wants to. She is outside, enjoying her freedom, mental and physical”

(Participant, Grace)