Winston Churchill once said that "success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." I have always looked to inspirational quotes like this to get me through hardships, and Churchill's words are no exception. Over the years, I have learned firsthand that I, like everyone else, am not perfect. Instead of allowing my failures to discourage me, I have come to see them as learning experiences that have enlightened me and shaped me into the individual I have finally come to love and respect. All things in life have a silver lining. Through my failures, I have become a more efficient problem solver. I have gathered the strength to move forward in life and accomplish things I never thought possible. This is the story of my life. It was not an easy story for me to tell since I am a product of childhood abuse and family neglect. I had to come to overcome my shame of being abused, but I knew that by not telling the story, I would forever remain a victim. To become a survivor, I had to speak out about what I endured. In the early years, I developed coping mechanisms like denial and the repression of feelings. At the time, this was the only way I could survive the harmful effects of my childhood traumas. Seeing firsthand how judgmental people can be, deterred me from being open with others about who I was and what I had experienced. But eventually, I realized that silence and these coping mechanisms I was implementing, were keeping me from becoming a healthy individual. I began by examining the ways in which my childhood either adversely affected or actually helped me. I had to ask myself many painful questions. Could I become the good mother I was never shown to be? Was I able to break the chains of abuse and neglect? Could I finally stop the cycle and show future generations that there is hope-that life could be filled with love and free from abuse? My children were my lightning rod, the reason that I pursued emotional health. They made me realize that I had to finally open up and speak out publicly. I finally understood that I could make the difference in the lives of others and be a positive influence for someone else. Oh, how I wish I had had such a person in my childhood! But I have learned that my troubled past is not only a part of me; it has shaped me into who I have become. When I counsel others and hear all the stories, I am struck by how many people are still troubled by their painful childhoods and their own personal stories of abuse and neglect. What's remarkable, though, is that now I am able to focus solely on what they are going through. I don't think any more about what I endured; rather, I think about how I can help. I have finally become the person I have always wanted to become, in large part because I have learned to accept, respect, and love myself. This knowledge has enabled me to accept, respect, and love others. I believe that we all go through some sort of failures in life, and at times, many of us have fallen into a cycle of abuse. The only difference between those that stay in that cycle and those that break those chains is personal responsibility. I believe that we all have the potential to break the chains of abuse and neglect. The key factor is whether we chose to do something about it.