By Gabby Sahm
Staff Writer

We all want to fall in love. We want that perfect Prince Charming, that will sweep us off our feet and make everything in this world worth while. We want our lives to turn out like all the fairy tales we heard as kids, but sometimes that does not always happen. Sometimes our Prince Charming turns into our worst nightmare.

Dating violence occurs everyday and even though it sometimes goes unseen, it is still existent in today’s society. Most of the time the victim will not speak up about the abuse because he or she is too scared. Because of this, the victim believes that if he or she tries to retaliate, the violence will only worsen. They have the thought in their head that if they say anything they will be punished or beaten.

I never thought I would ever know someone that experienced dating violence, let alone my own mother.

It was between sixth and seventh grade. My parent had been divorced since I was in second grade, so I was used to the idea of my parents dating other people. I had just got home from school and decided to call my mom. The phone rang, but there was no answer. I did not find this strange because my mom was very busy with work, so it was not uncommon that she would not answer.

The next day, my mom called me back sounding rather frantic and nervous. She said she was going to pick me up after school. I knew something was wrong since my mom never picked me up from school, but I thought nothing of it at the time.

When we arrived home, my mom asked me to sit down so we could talk. A million things were racing through my mind, but the one thing I did not expect to hear was what she told me. Her boyfriend of two years had hit her the night before. They had gotten into an argument and he had tackled my mother to the floor and hit her.

I was speechless. He had been in my life for so long that I never expected him to do anything to this magnitude to my mother. After the shock wore off, anger set in. I was so furious that someone had laid a hand on my mother. I never thought anyone my mom dated would ever hurt her physically, so it just caught me off guard. My mom reassured me that she was fine, and that she had broke things off with him.

So many people go through this everyday, but they are not as lucky. People do not always escape the situation like my mom. Some people are too scared of what might happen if they try and leave the relationship, so they stay and take the abuse. There are even times when these relationships can lead to severe injury and even death.

If you are in an abusive relationship, the best thing you can do is tell someone. If you tell someone, he or she could help you get through it, or even get out of it. Someone could help you get out of the situation and get your life back on track. I know my mom telling me helped her, because I was there for her. I helped her get through this tough time in her life. Telling just one person could be the difference between you living or slowly drifting away.