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2018 in Review

The New Year is always an incredibly exciting time, both to look forward to the future and reflect on the past. 2018 was such a big year for my platform, Speak Up Stand Tall, and I'd really like to look back on all the amazing things I've been able to do and be part of.

First of all, last year in February I started this blog! And it got a lot of things moving. Because of my blogging, I was able to see the need for people like myself to speak out or risk being silenced. I also saw how much support poured in to lift me up in some of the darkest moments.

With my actual speaking program, I was able to talk to so many wonderful teens! The first of these was at the Clarksville Public Library on May 3rd. This was so important as I saw which areas of my program I wanted to build on and this helped exponentially when I spoke at the Clarksville Department of Parks and Recreation's summer programs! Those were by far the largest groups I have seen so far, and while I was incredibly nervous, I felt like the kids I spoke to learned a lot. I had never had such responsive groups who had so many questions to ask. It was really amazing and left me with a lot to think about-- the questions led to me doing more research so I could feel more confident in giving answers about topics such as dating abuse against men.

The year 2018 also led me to my new home church, Spring Creek Baptist Church, where I have found so much acceptance as a survivor of abuse. I have also found opportunity at my new church to help where I feel called with the teen program. Being part of the Leadership Team for Anchored has been incredible and I am so excited to be going into a new year with this wonderful group.

Finally, this past year I was able to participate in two pageants. Both Miss Austin Peay and Miss Soybean Festival were such wonderful experiences. I met so many awesome people and even won an award for community service for Miss Austin Peay. I am looking forward to walking the stage again in 2019.

I want to finish up by linking my top posts from 2018! If you're new to my blog and want to see what I talk about, I'd suggest starting with one of these posts-- they're some of my favorites I've written!

3. Abuse is Like Shoes with 1040 page views. This is one of my earlier posts with a lot of my personal story with it. It was inspired by a quote from Elin Waldal's memoir, Tornado Warning.

2. Mythbusting Abuse: Is It Easy to Leave? with 1564 page views. This is the first of my Mythbusting Abuse series where I talk about myths about abusive relationships and domestic violence. This post talks about why leaving an abusive relationship is not easy and provides more information on the subject!

1. What is Emotional Abuse? with 3524 page views! This was probably one of my most emotionally taxing posts to write as I tore apart the definition of 'emotional abuse,' using my own experience to adequately describe it. This post also caused an outpour of support from people of all ages. I had so many survivors message me urging me to keep writing... that post was in April. And I plan to keep writing, keep speaking up, and keep spreading awareness of the issue of teen dating abuse.

2018 was a wonderful year filled with blessings that helped me so much, but more importantly, I think I have been able to help others in the past year. I plan to keep going in my program, and I cannot wait to see what our beautiful new year has in store.

If you know any organization (scouts, church, etc.) that would like to have me speak on Teen Dating Abuse, please contact me through my website here with your email address. To keep up with updates on this blog please feel free to hit the subscribe button in the top right corner to be alerted to new posts every Monday. Have something you would like to know more about in the future? Leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer right away! Remember, the first step in solving the problem of teen dating abuse is awareness!

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