“I’ve always been a rule follower. When they said not to chew gum, I didn’t chew gum. When they said not to use your cellphone, I didn’t use my cellphone. But today, in the spirit of defying expectations, and for perhaps the last time at this podium, I say..."
Early College High School valedictorian Alem Hadzic has gone viral after he took the stage at his graduation ceremony to deliver his speech—just hours after his father's funeral.
When my kid, who is in constant survival mode, feels seen and empathized with…their brains have space and capacity to learn, to be taught by you, and just maybe retain information.
I was kicked in the head, I was beaten with a club. And then strangled again for the kill; at which time he disposed of my body into an area I refer to as the ‘hole’.
"There are graphic photos of my face, and of the man who did this to me, my long-term ex-boyfriend who I was devoted to. A man who is trained day in and day out to kill efficiently and swiftly."
"In a puddle of my own blood, he left me in the dark—barely 20 paces from a main road. For all he knew I was dead...This is real. This did happen. It does happen."
"When I touch my wife, nearly 13 years after her rape, she can be triggered into an immediate fight or flight response...her body remembers what her mind can’t."
