Personal Reflection
There’s a difference between what happens to you and what stays with you.
The events don’t always define you.
But the meaning you give them can.
Some people carry their past like a weight.
Others carry it like proof.
Survival is rarely dramatic.
Most of the time, it looks ordinary.
Getting up when you don’t feel ready.
Continuing when something in you wants to stop.
Holding yourself together in ways no one else sees.
The word “victim” describes something real.
But it also freezes the moment.
“Survivor” acknowledges movement.
It says:
something happened — and I am still here.
That doesn’t erase the past.
It changes your relationship to it.
Maybe strength isn’t about avoiding what happens to you.
Maybe it’s about deciding it doesn’t get to decide you.
Reflective Prompt
What have you lived through that changed you — and how do you choose to carry it now?
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Memoirs of Madness 
I was reflecting this morning on my parents’ illnesses, and my husband illnesses and I know I carry empathy for individuals and their families that deal with acute and chronic illness.
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thanks, Nancy
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Precisely! Words matter. “Survivor” tells me I have weathered the storm and am stronger because of it. “Victim” makes me feel vulnerable; that I am forever in danger.
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thank you
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Came out of a breakdown a better person, and beat breast cancer twice. After the latter, I cannot stress enough the importance of self checks.
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so true, Di. As a cancer survivor as well, you got to do the work.
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It’s vital isn’t it.
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That’s so true. My wife and I have been talking about this these past few weeks. I’m most definitely a ‘survivor’ whereas another family member is without doubt, a ‘victim.’
And no matter how much I try to convince them to change their outlook / let things go and move on, the more they seem to want to create more drama and wollow in self pity
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thank you
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Thanks, Mangus, needed that one today.
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right on, thanks Ted
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