I am not a survivor.
Not in the sense that I'm not still among the living. I just hate that word. Survivor. Sounds like I was up against something completely insurmountable that most people never make it through. That I've been victimized. I'm not a victim. Not just that, but the term survivor also comes with an implication that your life is somehow less than it was or could have been before whatever it was you survived. I haven't been through anything so tragic that thousands of people aren't doing it every day. I made my choices, I do not regret. I accept and move on.
I'm a "survivor" of divorce.
I'm "surviving" having two kids to raise with a an ex who suffers from a variety of mental illnesses.
I "survived" a tragic car accident.
I "survived" PTSD.
Screw that.
