My single mom raised me to be very independent. Not because she was an AWFL, but because her father demeaned her as a child, she was raised by very, young parents. She hated men until the day she died, except for her grandchildren, she saw them having no flaws, which created deep rifts between us at times.

But I didn't go to the extreme, I had a failed relationship, one child, and a failed marriage, twins, but I didn't blame them. I blamed the fact that I never had a good father figure, someone who loved me unconditionally. I went looking for love and found lust.

It wasn't until I met my last husband, when I had learned to accept that I was still a good person and was doing the best I could in a world that taught me how to be myself. I forged my life with pain, loneliness, and at times emotional suffering, but these are things I inflicted on myself due to my choices, and when I found I made better choices, my life and other people in my life became themselves better people.