My story of living in a violent Jehovah's Witness family and getting away

You might not pay attention to the people you pass on the street every day knowing that they are just like you, like the people you know, like the majority of society, normal citizens, with normal stories, dreams, and ideas. You might have passed by me many times without noticing, as there is nothing unusual in my appearance, you might think, a regular woman, around 30 years old.

Whenever I pass you on the street though, I admire you, “normal” people, the majority of this society, regular citizens with regular jobs, problems and life. I wish that my existence was only as complicated as yours, that my days weren’t so much about struggling with my history or struggling with survival among you.

I can see you and I think of what your life might be like. The question that I ask myself probably way too often when I meet you is: “how would my life look like if I was born to your family if your parents were my parents if we were given the same chances”.

I am nothing like you, I’m not even a citizen of this country. I rather don’t belong here, I don’t belong to any group, to any family or religion. I’m mostly on a run, trying to build a life, but every time I see you I get reminded of something that I will never be a part of, that I was stripped of, until becoming an outcast, a…