Journals of a sexual abuse survivor o1

My name is Denni Bengtson. I am 19 years old, a college freshman, a political science major, a female, a campus tour guide, a sister, a daughter, an aunt, a midwesterner, and a sexual assault survivor.

You will continue to learn more and more about me as time goes on, but I just wanted to introduce myself to all of you.

Since this is my first post, I will keep it short. I have always wanted to create and run a blog. Though it is the state of our society that has assisted my hand in actually creating this. As most of us have discovered, Covid-19 has allowed for a great deal of free time. Free time that many of us definitely did not ask for. Though we can find a way to turn this into a time to participate and spend time doing the things that we never had time for before, or those things that we just never prioritized which is exactly what I have chosen to do

I, like many of you, am locked up in my house with my family. My life was absolutely deranged when Covid-19 shook up the United States. I was going to school in Ohio. 1200 miles away from my hometown. That being said you can only imagine my dismay when I got the email from my university president saying I had to move out of my dorm for the rest of the semester by next week.

So here I am, back home in North Dakota. A little over a month into quarantine I have finally found myself typing out my first blog post. I have decided to title this series- Journals of a Sexual Abuse Survivor. Yes, this is a very personal and sensitive topic. April being national sexual assault has inspired not only this series, but this entire creation. As you can guess, I am extremely passionate about this topic. Honestly, I am very nervous about publishing this. I know people from home are going to judge me, criticize me, maybe even make fun of me. But only I have the ability to tell my story. So I don't care what others think. Simply put, it's my story, no one else's.

I have always found myself wanting to do more, wanting to make an impact on the world. I have found myself consistently posting on social media about my struggles, letting others know they are not alone. Not only do I want to share my story, I want to inspire others. Whether that is others being inspired to come forward to report their story, or just being inspired to live another day. I want to change the world. I'm hoping to do that here, with all of you.

Some people don’t realize that when people go through something traumatic- they either remember everything or they black out and remember nothing. Unfortunately, I am the type that remembers everything. Because of this, I often relive many of the struggles I faced. This means being back in North Dakota, I am reminded of my experiences on a daily basis. What better way to process this happening than to get it out on paper and share it with the world.