To the victim:

So by now most of the world has read your words, and heard your story. You remain nameless, which I assume makes going through life so much easier, but I can’t even imagine being called “the victim” in every article, in every news snippet, everything. Good for you for remaining nameless – that must be incredibly difficult, but it’s probably good for you in the long run.

I’ve seen letters to Mr. Turner; I’ve seen countless posts about Brock – be it his mug shot or that his sentence was too short; I’ve even seen posts about getting the judge off of his stand with petitions. What I haven’t seen, though, is a letter to you. Everyone seems so concerned with how screwed up the situation is, but no one is addressing you and asking how you are. Now, if you ask me, that is screwed up.

So here I am, writing this letter to you – from one victim to another. I just want you to know that while you stand with us, we stand with you. No matter what.

I couldn’t help but get infuriated when I read your statement. Not because what you wrote was wrong but because it wasn’t fair. None of this is fair.

I just want to write to you so that maybe, just maybe, people will realize who they really should be concerned about here. Not that the douchebag who assaulted you is getting what he deserves or that his mugshot should be shown more than his Stanford picture. Don’t get me wrong, those are important, but they are not nearly as important as making sure you are okay and that you are getting through this without committing suicide or doing something that isn’t worth it. Because he isn’t worth it. None of this is worth it.

I’m not even sure what advice to give to you at this point. I’m not even sure what to say to anyone in this situation besides that it 100% sucks. There is no other word for it besides sucks because it is the worst feeling to have everything taken out from under your feet. It’s like the way you breathe is altered forever, and you’re suddenly a fish without water. I’m sure you’ve seen the meme of Mr. Krabs and the world around him being blurry. That pretty much describes the entire feeling you’ll have for a good while, and even after you get through it, there will still be days that feel like that.

But.

There’s more to life. And here’s what I need you and every other victim to know and remember always.

It’s hard, I know, to be the victim; but don’t play the victim. You are more than what happened to you. It may seem like that is all you have right now, but it’s not. You have a family who loves you, a boyfriend, and you have a bright future. You can get through this like thousands have before you. We stand with you, whoever you are. We will always stand with you.