Editor’s Note: This was submitted to us here at pepperbough.com by a freshman who wishes to remain anonymous. This story is real, told by the person it happened to. We bring it to you in an attempt to shed light on a pervasive problem, and to show that there is hope and freedom.

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My father along with his sisters and brothers were immigrants. They left Michoacan and came to Long Beach. My Mother met my father 15 years ago. They got married only for one reason, to get my father papers to stay in California. Then they had me accidently. They were stuck with each other for two years, until my mom decided to leave him.

I am my father’s only child, and one out of 7 of my mother’s. Ever since we left when I was 1 ½  years of age, my father never tried to get ahold of me or my mother to see me. At the age of eight, he finally got in touch with me and asked if i could visit for the summer vacation, and I did. One night, he tried touching me and tried to take off my clothes, and I ran to this lady he was friends with and called my aunt.

I would visit my aunt every year, and I would have to see my father every year because my mistake was not telling any adult about what had happened about my father until i told my mom a couple months ago. Last year I talked to my father, went straight up honest with him, because he kept thinking everything was okay, saying he is my dad. I told him, “Look, you’re not my dad, you’re my father. The difference is a dad is there to protect and be there for his baby girl, a father is just a father who is blood. And that’s what you are, my father.” Ever since then I haven’t seen him because still to this day he doesn’t bother to get a hold of me.

I have attended nine different schools either because my mother got a job offer, or because we moved. Four years ago she met this wonderful guy, who is my step-dad. I have two step-siblings. We are nine children in total with the seven from my mother. I have seven in-law siblings. two nieces and one nephew on its way.

In my 14 years on this planet I have learned that life is a rollercoaster: there are some dips and loops, but sometimes the ride gets better. I’ve learned that sometimes all you need is to step-up, get stronger, and smile through the pain, because life’s too short to cry and worry.