Removing the Mask and Facing the Mirror
She removed her mask so that she could help others heal from the pain of sexual assault . By Jaime Gill
Mirror , Mirror on the wall , who ’ s the fairest of them all ? Surely it cannot be me , because if I was those men wouldn ’ t have raped me .
T his revision from a line made familiar by the Disney movie Snow White , became the statement that I made to myself as I realized that I was a rape survivor . A survivor of rape . A girl who was raped . No matter how you say it , the sting of the reality of what happened to me did not get any softer . How did this happen ? Better yet , how did this happen to me ? At the mere age of 17 , I was reflecting that there was something very different about me .
16 The Well Magazine / Spring 2013
I was now a rape survivor . Raised in a single parent home , I was the baby girl of a family of five . I was very much loved by my family and neighbors , some would even say spoiled . I was protected , supported , and given every opportunity in the world to pursue all of my dreams . I was the shadow to my older brothers and sisters . I cherished times with my grandparents and my mom and grandmothers were my heroes . My dad and grandfathers were the coolest people I knew . Honor student , active in school . Former Girl Scout . Friendly to all that I met and knew . How did this happen to me ? Why did