The first weekend I was living on my own, was 4 July and gave me a deeper meaning Independence. My ex tended to all of my vehicle maintenance and I few months prior to my leaving, something inside of me told me I needed to take my vehicle to a friend. I was commuting and hour an 1/2 one way to work and I literally turned my vehicle around and drove straight to my friends shop and told him something didn’t feel right. He told me my vehicle didn’t make sense, He told me I had 2 % brakes, the sparks plugs didn’t fit my vehicle, the condenser and the radiator was busted. It bought me time, as I drove into the drive way when I got home, my ex greeted me. I told him don’ t ever touch my vehicle again. Having a third party involved gave me something that I didn’t have. He had isolated me and I had to be strategic. The day I left, my ex became aggressive and didn't’’t make my exit easy. I lied- I told him if he didn’t back up, I was going to make a call and that same friend was going to show up, which was not true. He insisted that he was helping me move- I knew I had to make moves carefully and I didn’t have the confidence I have today. I drove from a small mountain town an hour and half to my new home. The temperature got up to 114 degrees and I had no air conditioning. I can still feel the beads of sweat dripping down my back when I think about it. My lingered at my new home and wouldn’t leave. When he finally left, it was dark and about to rain. I was starving , exhausted, and didn’t know the neighborhood I had just moved to. I did remember seeing a Taco Bell and off my daughter and I went. When we got in the vehicle it was a down pour, the streets were flooding, and since the condenser was busted, the windows fogged and I couldn’t see well. By the time I arrived to Taco Bell, I had hit my record for saying as many “F” words in five minutes. I remember ordering my food and just laughing….my daughter just looked at me in disbelief. Days later, my daughter told me she had never heard me use profanity before. When we left the state for safety she went into the military and I began working with the military. A dream that became a reality. My first assignment, I served the Marines-My Marines and I was home. They put an art to the “F” word and it didn’t make it easy for me to be accepted in. They made me work for it, but also encouraged me and supported me to become assertive. As one Marine told me- The Marines Raised Me- but he didn’t realize with his words, they did help me Rise and Raise me Up.