By Diane Ngo
I stared at myself in the mirror, the same girl--full of life, energy-- looking back at me and I couldn’t even recognize myself. I had tears streaming down my cheeks, my eyes were bloodshot and it was at that moment that I knew I was mentally destroyed by the very boy I loved. Toxic relationships can impact a person at least once in their lifetime, either they experience it or it’s someone they know.
In a relationship, there should be trust, communication, mutual respect and all the other factors that led up to it. That isn’t what is in a toxic one; there is rarely any trust or communication as well as a presence of unsettling fear.
According to loveisrespect.org, nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year. Why focus on young people? Well, statistics showed that 94% of young women that were between the ages of 16-19 and had the highest percentage of partner violence.
I set out to find out how the young women felt during and after the relationship. Lillian had to say, “I think I felt useless. I don’t know any other way to say it. It was like I was of no meaning or importance.”
The mindset had completely changed, morphed into what their partner had done to cause this. They had a feeling of worthlessness, their morals had changed and from the relationship, they would’ve expected every relationship to be that way.
To hear that nearly 1.5 million high school students experienced physical abuse from a partner isn't surprising to me. Egos run high in high school. From my personal experience, the guy I loved was a certified “f-boy” which I didn’t want to believe. But it turned out to be true; he was one.
According to Lillian, once her relationship was over, “It was a relief. I missed him that’s for sure. But good riddance. I can’t believe I ever loved him.” Lillian chuckled, her face immediately brightened up just talking about how happy she was to have left him.
It showed to me that the way she talked about leaving, she immediately got happier and wasn’t frowning as much.
A toxic relationship may be traumatizing for some, but there is always hope to find happiness with someone.
For me personally, I have finally found love. I found someone who respects me for me and someone that I can see a future with. Someone that I trust and would give anything for.
I stared at myself in the mirror, the same girl--full of life, energy-- looking back at me and I couldn’t even recognize myself. I had tears streaming down my cheeks, my eyes were bloodshot and it was at that moment that I knew I was mentally destroyed by the very boy I loved. Toxic relationships can impact a person at least once in their lifetime, either they experience it or it’s someone they know.
In a relationship, there should be trust, communication, mutual respect and all the other factors that led up to it. That isn’t what is in a toxic one; there is rarely any trust or communication as well as a presence of unsettling fear.
According to loveisrespect.org, nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year. Why focus on young people? Well, statistics showed that 94% of young women that were between the ages of 16-19 and had the highest percentage of partner violence.
I set out to find out how the young women felt during and after the relationship. Lillian had to say, “I think I felt useless. I don’t know any other way to say it. It was like I was of no meaning or importance.”
The mindset had completely changed, morphed into what their partner had done to cause this. They had a feeling of worthlessness, their morals had changed and from the relationship, they would’ve expected every relationship to be that way.
To hear that nearly 1.5 million high school students experienced physical abuse from a partner isn't surprising to me. Egos run high in high school. From my personal experience, the guy I loved was a certified “f-boy” which I didn’t want to believe. But it turned out to be true; he was one.
According to Lillian, once her relationship was over, “It was a relief. I missed him that’s for sure. But good riddance. I can’t believe I ever loved him.” Lillian chuckled, her face immediately brightened up just talking about how happy she was to have left him.
It showed to me that the way she talked about leaving, she immediately got happier and wasn’t frowning as much.
A toxic relationship may be traumatizing for some, but there is always hope to find happiness with someone.
For me personally, I have finally found love. I found someone who respects me for me and someone that I can see a future with. Someone that I trust and would give anything for.