Dear younger me and other Survivors,

I see you.

I see the way you carried something that was never yours to hold.

The way you learned to be quiet, to shrink, to survive in spaces that did not protect you.

I see how you questioned your worth, your voice, your truth.

And I need you to hear this…

None of what happened to you was your fault. Not then. Not now. Not ever.

You were never “too much.”

You were never “asking for it.”

You were never responsible for someone else’s harm.

You were a child.

You were worthy of safety.

You were worthy of love.

There were nights you didn’t understand why your body felt heavy.

Why your heart raced.

Why your spirit felt disconnected.

No one explained trauma to you.

No one told you that your reactions were your body trying to protect you.

So let me tell you now…

You were responding exactly the way a survivor does. You were surviving.

And surviving… is not weakness.

It is brilliance.

know you felt alone.

Even in rooms full of people.

I know you wondered if anyone would believe you.

If speaking up would break everything around you.

So you stayed quiet… until you didn’t!

Because silence felt safer than the risk of not being held. But you were brave and reported even when you went back and forth about this.

But I want you to know something you couldn’t see yet…

Your voice was never the problem. The harm done to you was.

There will come a time when you begin to remember who you are.

Not who the pain told you to be.

But who you were always meant to be.

Strong.

Soft.

Powerful.

Loved.

There will come a time when your voice shakes…but you use it anyway.

When your story feels heavy, but you carry it with purpose.

And one day…

Your story will help someone else breathe again.

You will grow into a woman who breaks cycles.

Who stands in rooms and speaks truth.

Who creates spaces where survivors are believed, held, and honored.

You will become the person you needed.

And I am so proud of you for that.

Healing will not be linear.

There will be days the past feels close again.

There will be moments when grief returns unexpectedly.

That does not mean you are broken.

That does not mean you are going backward.

It means you are human.

It means you are healing.

So here is what I want you to carry with you, always,

You are not alone.

You are not to blame.

You are not what happened to you.

You are still whole.

You are still sacred.

You are still worthy of a life filled with joy.

And to every survivor reading this…

This letter is for you too.

Whether your voice is loud or still finding its way…

Whether your healing is just beginning or has been unfolding for years…

I see you.

I believe you.

I honor you.

This Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and every day beyond

We stand together as survivors.

As cycle breakers.

As truth tellers.

With love,

Tiffany Jiron