I am a survivor!

Im proud of myself because I am a survivor. I was left outside a Catholic Hospital when I was four years old, by my mother, shortly after that I was placed into foster care, where i was in 16 different homes in 4 years. When I was eight years old, I was placed with the last option for adoption. I was told that if they didnt adopt me, that I was going to be in an orphanage until I turned 18. They were nice to me.....AT FIRST. The day that I was adopted, my adoptive mother looked at me, and said "Do you know what this means?"I said "NO" and she looked at me with an evil smile, and said " Now we can legally beat the sh*% out of you. That day my whole world started to change. They were nice to me to make me agree to be adopted, but that day, I was beaten, badly. The first of thousands of times. Not spanked, but beaten.The next years, were hell for me. I was now a slave in my own home. When I took cookies without asking, I got beaten with a belt, on my back, legs, chest, wherever they could reach, with whatever was handy,a belt, broom, cord, cooking pan. Whenever I refused to scrub al the floors in the house with a toothbrush for a party, I got beaten. When I asked for more dinner, I got beaten. For no reason at all, I was beaten until I bled somewhere. When i said, "Stop" it never did. The sad part was that they were a preacher and his wife,and they enjoyed it. I was a slave to them. Literally, I had an alarm on my door, and a lock on my window. No toys, in my room, nothing at all for that matter, Except a mattress, and a sheet. Even in the winter. My brothers (Their biological Kids) Looked at me with pity. They would not interfear because they had it going for them, friends, toys, you named it. This went on for years, I was homeschooled, and was very smart. Finally, I got ahold of a phone and called DFACS, they came over, and talked to me, saw the marks, and were told,I fell, a lot. They didnt believe me, because " why would a preacher lie", so I was stabbed in my arm, and beaten in the head, with a cooking pan. I was refused medical treatment, so to this day I have scars, from it. I started to get depressed and the only way to feel real, was to cut. Itstarted out that I engraved designs. They had to call the police, one day when I cut badly, and couldn't control the bleeding. I was placed in school, where I was ahead of my class, because all I did was study. I was made fun of, because i was small and very smart, too smart. I took a knife to school and got arrested, and was placed in JuvinileDetention, for four years, while there because of my anger, I got all sorts of charges and went to prison for 2 1/2 years. While incarcerated, I began to cut deeper, I was an unloved little boy, and felt like no one cared. I scratched at first. Knicks, then that quit working, and i scratched deeper, then i began to explore the new way of feeling alive, glass. IT would hurt for a while then i needed o do it deeper, and deeper, One at a time, then two, then three...fifteen. One day I cut with a broken piece of glass i found, so deep Icould see the bone, From that poing on , thats what I have done, Hundreds of staples, thousands of stitches, and steri-strips later, Dozens of bottles of Derma-Bond later. Out of there, living on my own, living with thousands of scars, A fiancee, a child, and another on the way, I am here to say. Live life to the fullest, each and every day. You could have it worse, you could have it better. I know I am not the worst case out there, however I am Strong, I am a SURVIVOR, and I am ALIVE. I made it through a living hell, most dontbelieve until they see my arms, legs, back, and stomach. But thats not why I am here, My goal is to keep this from happening to anyone else. I am on 7 Cups of Tea, not to show off, but to help others with problems, lifes daily struggles, relationships and trauma. I love 7 Cups. Welcome New Members, and listeners, Thank you to those who have stayed and are verified. Thank You to my mentor Maui, she is the best. Have a good, day.....WHY, because you are free, hopefully healthy, but most of all ....................YOU ARE ALIVE. Have a nice day, yall