Being raped is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Yup, you read that right.  Suffering the horrible, traumatic, painful, devastating crime of rape over and over again as a little boy is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Why in the world would I say such a thing? I say it because it has led me to where I am today – a place and a time I treasure. My career, my family and friends, my talent for speaking the truth about rape and abuse – none of these would exist without everything that came before them.

Don’t get me wrong. I wish that I never had to experience rape as a little kid. I wish I’d had a family that cared about me. I wish I’d never touched drugs. I wish that I’d never felt like stealing and hitting and using people, and I wish that I’d never had to experience jail or prison. But wishing to change the past is a freaking waste of time. It can’t be done. The past is what it is and it’s part of who I am. I have no regrets.

I won’t forgive or forget what happened to me, but what I am doing is using my past to change the world for the better.  I can’t go back in time to save little Mikey, but I sure as hell can save kids who are being raped and abused right now, and I can help protect kids from suffering like I did. It’s already happening. People of all ages are telling someone they’ve been raped and they’re getting help because they heard me speak. That makes every bit of pain I experienced in my life worth it. Every bit.

My story is one the world needs to hear. Enough statistics. Enough theory. Enough dancing around the truth. I never cared too much for numbers, and trust me that you don’t want to see me dance! Kids are getting raped and we need to stop it. Period.

Being raped is the best thing that ever happened to me because I have made it my superpower. I shouldn’t even be alive and I would have every right to be bitter.  But I’m very much alive and I’m happy. Why? Not because I was raped over and over as a kid, but because I’m using it to change the world.

The worst thing that ever happened to me became the best thing. I took control of my past and I’m using it to stop child sexual abuse. That’s my superpower. What’s yours?