Gut wrenching decision to have to make 💔

On March 2, 2021, my father threatened my life, and I had no choice but to leave. That night began a long period of being homeless, navigating nursing school, and working while couch surfing. What I didn’t know then was that I’d never live with my siblings again after that night. Leaving them behind was gut-wrenching, but I couldn’t bring them with me. I had to protect myself, even though it broke me inside to go.

Over a year later, I came back for them when I had my life together, hoping we could move together and I could take custody of them, but they didn’t want to leave. They had found a new life, new friends, and a new school, and from that moment, we stopped being close. I’ve carried the guilt of leaving them in that environment for so long, and it’s haunted me ever since.

I stayed no contact with my family for several years, until I finally broke that silence in July 2024. My parents had changed—for my siblings, but not for me. But I watched as my siblings resembled my father a lot, and they would gang up on my mother. That realization cut deep. I had no choice but to leave again, and while I’ve moved forward, the guilt and distance with my siblings is a wound that never fully heals. But it wasn’t my fault. I was just trying to survive a situation that one man’s actions created.