Before We Were Innocent

by Ella Berman

“The only difference between us right now is one choice. One simple choice I made when I saw not only how the world expected me to behave but who they wanted me to be. So I made the choice to become who I wanted to be instead. Not only did I refuse to be defined by my past for a moment longer, but I refused to be defined by any other human in my life, whether that was a stranger behind a computer screen or my own mother. And now I’m here, standing in front of you, asking you to make that same choice. People in your life will want to shame you, to keep you in your old habits and dysfunctions because you’re easier to predict that way. They’ll want to keep you trapped on autopilot, an eternal victim of your own trauma, because you’re easier to control that way. But I want to tell you that we deserve so much more. Say it with me—we deserve more.”