GIOVANNA

PHOTO BY RANDY BACON

GIOVANNA

“I Picked Myself Up”

I was born and raised in Kansas City, MO and spent most of my adult life living with different family members to get away from domestic abuse. I was the oldest child, and I grew up caring for my two sisters, my brother, and my mother. My mother dealt with a secret life of domestic violence, so when my parents separated, I became the caregiver for everyone.

As I got older, I had my own struggles with a controlling partner. It all started with me thinking I had met prince charming and then it quickly changed. I was trapped and I knew I didn’t want to be in the relationship. I lost myself.

One day I was 7 months pregnant with my second child and I decided that this was not who I wanted to be. I picked myself up off the floor, picked up my laptop, and I enrolled in college. I called my children’s father and told him whether he liked it or not, he needed to take care of the kids, because I needed to go find my life. My biggest accomplishment was moving out of the toxic environment I was living in and moving to Springfield to focus on school and graduate.

When I started working towards my bachelor’s degree in health services, I began to understand how my mental health challenges have impacted my life. I would encourage others to educate themselves on the help that is available and not be embarrassed to ask for help.