Trigger Warning: This article deals with topics of sexual assault April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and this month is a special month for me. Coming up this May marks a milestone I'd never thought I'd need to mark. May 3rd marks the anniversary of my rape. It will be 8 years this year since that day. When I first started to process my trauma, I felt the need to shout it from the rooftops and demand that everyone hear my story. I even shared it here on this blog. I was angry, I was hurting, most importantly I was scared and confused. I claimed I didn't want the attention I was getting from this post. I didn't want the praise and comments saying how strong and brave I was... but deep down, I really craved that validation. I was branding myself as the victim/survivor, and I was building my identity as the girl who was raped. Looking back at the girl who was hurting and demanding to be heard, my heart aches for her. I have come so far since the girl who wrote that