11 months after Erin’s law was signed by my own Governor of Illinois and 6 months since Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed it this week New York senate has introduced the bill and has been assigned to be heard by the Senate Education Committee. (Erin’s Law N.Y. Language) I am grateful for Senator Klein and Valesky of N.Y. that introduced the bill. I met with them in October when I spoke in New York and did a press conference with them.
Tomorrow I am headed to my own state capital along with the entire Erin’s Law task force. Our day begins at 9am as we come together in a conference room for an entire day of finalizing the recommendations we will be submitting to Governor Quinn June 1st. This is the major piece to Erin’s law being signed into law. This task force has done amazing work. I am so happy to see what we have done over the past year. A group of nearly 20 people that has met monthly and subcommittee groups that have done conference calls aside from our monthly group meeting. Each sub committee has a focus from researching prevention curriculum, parents, teachers, and administrator education and trainings. Our goal is not just to educate children. Our goal is to educate children, parents, teachers, administrators, and society as a whole. I have received so much material over the year it took an entire large suitcase to pack it up to bring to our day long meeting on Monday.
Once I return home Monday night I won’t be home for long. I was told Friday by Indiana Senate sponsor Rogers of Erin’s Law that it will be heard Wednesday afternoon at 1:30pm at the capital in Indianapolis and asked if I would still be able to testify. I am so glad I have that day open and I got an early enough heads up. Wednesday morning I will pick up my rental car and head to Indianapolis and my sister is coming with me. I hope I can convince Indiana senators the way I did in Illinois and Missouri. In the days and weeks to come I will have even more to share about action other states that are introducing Erin’s law this year. The state that I want to see next introduce Erin’s law is Oregon. Why Oregon? Well I found out on Christmas I am going to be an aunt. My sister is expecting her first child and lives in Oregon.
It is going to be a busy year for Erin’s law….no doubt about it!
Erin Merryn Radio Interview that aired April 14th on Jon Leiberman Show. (Correspondent of America’s Most Wanted) http://www.dqrm.com/shows/Leiberman/2011/leiberman-15.mp3 I just did another interview with him via Skype that will be airing soon.
Happy New Year! So maybe you are one of those people who started the year off with a new years resolution. The number one new years resolution every year is to lose weight. Well forget Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and the Mediterranean Diet . I’ve got the best kept secret to losing weight and I promise it works.
I first became unhappy with my weight my first semester of college in the Fall of 2004. Ever since then I have shed the pounds and transformed myself. So how did I do it? I bought a kitten and slowly began giving him all my carbs. All the carbs I usually ate in a day I began feeding to my cat and I turned to the healthy nutritious foods of veggies, fruits, grilled chicken or cod. Just look at the transformation. That cat got huge and I lost the weight.
Just bought him here in December 2004.
December 2011
Dec 2004
Dec. 2004
2005
2005
2006
2006
Driving to college- 2007
2008
2008
2009
2010
Dec 2010
V-day 2011
Don’t be fooled it never turns on with him on it.
October 2011
2011
2011
Giving me hugs while I drive. Summer 2011
He will beg from anyone.
May 2011
Looking up words for me in the dictionary for my next book. He has to work for his food.
What a good snack that squirrel would be. Instead he is eating in front of him.
Thanksgiving 2011
Dec 2011
Dec. 2011
Nov 2011
Christmas 2011 begging at the table like a dog.
Here is where all the carbs go straight to Bailey.
Fresh water from the toilet.
Certainly doesn’t fit in this small dog bed. 2011
Well this doesn’t look the most comfortable place to sleep but there is no room on the couch for him.
Found his sleeping place.
2012
Today!
So there you have it go out today and buy yourself a kitten and watch yourself shed the pounds.
Warning: This post was not to be taken serious but instead just make you laugh. I am lucky to have a cat with so much personality who certainly needs a diet himself. Believe me I’ve tried.
Ten months ago Erin’s Law was signed by Governor Quinn. Ten months later Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed Erin’s law, and now 8 state lawmakers are looking to introduce Erin’s law in 2012. One state added just days ago with an article coming out today in Michigan. Along with Michigan bringing Erin’s law to the attention of lawmakers there is New York, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Iowa, New Mexico, Indiana, and Maine. Massachusetts has also looked at bringing it to lawmakers attention. It seems every day I am on the phone with a new state senator discussing Erin’s law and getting ready for a press release. A month from tomorrow the Erin’s Law task force will be staying the night down at the state capital of Illinois in Springfield and spending two days in a conference room putting forth a lot of work towards the final recommendations for the state of Illinois on what curriculum will be put in place and parent, teacher, administrator recommendations. I will bring chocolate to keep them all happy since I know I won’t be tempted to eat any of it. As long as their is coffee I am a happy lady.
Erin Merryn was news maker of the year for ABC7 Chicago news for 2010
Erin’s Law will be news maker of the country for 2012. I won’t let America stay silent to the silent epidemic of sexual abuse. I just got off the phone tonight with an amazing person who is going to help me in my mission of Erin’s law and believe me I trust God brought him to my attention from a friend for a reason. Mark a defense attorney from Florida who is doing national media interviews all the time said to me tonight, “Erin my wife and I got our children off to school this morning and before I went off to do 3 major network interviews we went to your website and watched one media interview after another of you and it brought so many emotions to the table for us. You have so much passion behind what you do and can get it across so well. I don’t understand why you are not on these networks every night being interviewed on Erin’s law. I am such a busy man constantly doing media interviews and being a defense attorney and there is no way I would take on something else at this point in my life but I have no doubt I was spiritually drawn to open your message among the thousands I get every week and never get a chance to respond or read. I decided to open yours and so glad that I did. I want to help you with Erin’s law in every way possible. Those ways in which he is going to help me…..you will have to wait and “Watch.”
Erin Merryn Radio Interview that aired April 14th on Jon Leiberman Show. (Correspondent of America’s Most Wanted) http://www.dqrm.com/shows/Leiberman/2011/leiberman-15.mp3 I just did another interview with him via Skype that will be airing soon.
Watercolor painting of Erin as a child done by Michal Madison
Please support Erin’s Law in joining hands for justice and healing by donating here.
After a scary end to 2010 where I had my 2nd seizure that placed me in the hospital for 6 days the resilient person I am bounced back and just days after being released was testifying before the House of Representatives of Illinois on “Erin’s Law” where all 110 members voted YES passing it on to Governor Quinn. February 14, 2011 Governor Quinn made Erin’s Law official which began the process of the Erin’s Law task force developing. Every month 15 of us come together from across the state for a meeting as we discuss the progress of our work in finding the best age appropriate curriculum for children on sexual abuse, the best way to educate parents, teachers, and administrators on sexual abuse prevention, warning signs, and what to do if a child reports sexual abuse. Well as we all know child sexual abuse doesn’t just happen in Illinois it is happening across this world. I knew in my heart I wanted to continue to spread Erin’s law of educating and protecting children in other states. I am now on a national crusade to get it passed in all 50 states. 5 months after Erin’s Law was signed by Governor Quinn, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed Erin’s Law thanks to Senator Ryan McKenna.
It doesn’t end there, I wrote letters to senators in nearly every state and got a response from several. I did a press conference in New York with Senators Klein and Valesky who are introducing Erin’s Law in January 2012 and New Mexico, Indiana, Minnesota, and Maine are also introducing Erin’s Law. Look what one woman in Iowa did after seeing me on television. After the recent news of Penn State I was immediately on the phone with the PA Governor’s office and I also had a representative in my audience in April when I spoke in Pennsylvania working to get Erin’s Law introduced in Pennsylvania. It will happen in every state and you can help. People are constantly asking me how to get Erin’s law passed in their state. Contact the senator in your district and state and send them the language of “Erin’s Law” and this video called Erin’s Mission. If this doesn’t move them to action then shame on them. No worries though, I will eventually get their attention. I promise!
This year I have traveled from one end of the country to another. From a college campus in Keene, New Hampshire, to the border of hot Texas in Laredo for their annual child abuse conference, to beautiful Vancouver, Washington for the YWCA annual conference, to The United States Department of Education National Conference in D.C. I have been honored to be a keynote speaker at all of this years events and past years events and am grateful for all those that bring me to their community to shatter the silence.
I began this journey of speaking out nearly 8 years ago in March 2004. I have met some incredible people along the way and am so blessed to have many of these people now apart of my life. I have poured my heart and soul into awareness, education, and breaking the silence around sexual abuse. All this passion, determination, and motivation stems from the life I have lived. I have taken some of the darkest moments of my life and have appeared before millions on television and stages sharing some of those darkest moments and almost all the time I am approached after every appearance I make and am told I am poised, authentic, and have such strength to do what I do. My answer to how I can get up there and do that is simple. You will find that answer in either of my books “Stolen Innocence” or Living For Today” but you can also find the answer in The Bible. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”- Philippians 4:13. I know what sexual abuse does to a child and a family and I will do everything in my efforts to not let other children and families walk down that path.
Every day I hear from people from around this world and the impact my decision to speak out has had on them. While in Corpus Christi, Texas in September just as I finished giving my speech a local female judge in my audience approached me immediately after and said, “Erin I am a judge who has never been late to work. I am 15 minutes late to a court hearing but I could not bring myself to leave because your message is so powerful and the courage you display is incredible I had to keep listening.” While in Alabama speaking in September a man approached me after my speech and said, “Several years ago my wife heard you speak in South Carolina and she came home and went on and on about what an incredible speech you gave so when she heard you were coming to Alabama she didn’t want me to miss it and now I saw what she is talking about.” Hearing these compliments is sometimes hard to hear. I just feel I am doing what I was called to do after finding my voice again. His wife later came up to me and told me that she uses my books over and over again quoting passage after passage as she travels to conferences for child abuse trainings for Children’s Advocacy Centers. It is rewarding to hear my messages straight out of my books are being used at conferences around the country. I receive letters all the time about therapists recommending their clients to read my books. I received one of those letters this week. “You signed a book for my counselor at a conference this year when she heard you speak in New Jersey. She let me borrow the book and I am getting so much help from it. You give me the courage to want to speak out about this and educate others.” My final story I will share from this years traveling happened in October when I spoke in Austin, Texas. I had just finished giving an hour and a half speech in front of 600 people. I was walking in the hallway outside the banquet room when a man approached me and asked if he could speak to me for a moment. He went on to share how moving my presentation was for him to hear. He went on to say how he felt like I was speaking to him directly especially when I described how these people that often abuse children are not “Stranger Danger” but instead the people we trust with our kids and one of the first examples I gave was coaches. This man was abused by a coach as a kid and he knows this coach abused several boys he knew. The man became very emotional and to give him some privacy I stepped outside with him and spent the next twenty minutes listening to him and offering him the advice I felt best for him to walk away with. I encouraged him to find a good therapist to talk to. He was pouring lots of time into serving in other ways to abused kids. I find that great but I felt he was directing his attention to how he could help in his community to other abused kids when he still has not given that little hurting boy inside himself time to be heard and heal. He introduced me to his wife and I encouraged her to help her husband find a therapist. This man out of Texas is an example of what I don’t want future generations to keep secrets about. Which is why I am pushing with all my efforts to take Erin’s Law national.
For the past year I have teamed up with a foundation called Cord-Vanderpool that is supporting “Erin’s Law” in tremendous ways. This foundation recognizes all the time and energy I have poured into Erin’s Law, where I am doing something out of the goodness of my heart that does not see financial gain but actually financial loss with all the travel expenses. If I am not spending hours on the phone one day with state senators with questions about Erin’s law, interviews with reporters on the law, I am on the phone with organizations that have curriculum on child abuse prevention that want Erin’s Law task force to consider it. My biggest challenge is having enough time for it all. It is all so time consuming. The days are not long enough. The challenge is only going to become tougher this year. Many state senators are asking me to come testify at their capital on “Erin’s Law” this winter/spring. They all feel I come across so effective with the importance of why we need this law that it is best to have me testify on it. I am totally in support of it just as long as they can cover my travel expenses. Well many of these states cannot. That is where you can help make that happen this year by donating. The foundation knows how dedicated I am to my mission of Erin’s Law and that I will not let anything stop me not even my medical conditions.
Last January I was dropped from my parent’s health insurance and because I have a preexisting condition with Epilepsy all private health insurance companies denied me. After about my thirteenth phone call with health insurance providers I was ready to pull my hair out and was done hearing the same message. Well the anti-seizure medications I am on are over thousands of dollars each time I get another prescription without insurance. With insurance the cost is nearly nothing for me. Well my only option was Cobra which came out to be nearly $600.00 a month and I just received a statement over the weekend Cobra is being raised to $630.00 a month for me. For the past year all donations to Cord-Vanderpool under “Erin’s Law” have gone to allow me to continue my mission by paying my health insurance and Cord-vanderpool picked up what wasn’t covered. Each time someone donates Cord-Vanderpool has notified me who has donated. While I would love to recognize you all I know many would like to stay anonymous. Whether you were that person that donated $10.00-$2000.00 or some where in between I know who you are and I greatly appreciate you for helping me continue my mission. With all the events to come in 2012 and more states I know that will come to support bringing Erin’s Law to their state I ask this year if you can pay the way in making sure Erin’s Law is heard by making a donation under Erin’s Law to Cord-Vanderpool. Just click on the name and it will take you there. We are also planning on doing a fundraiser in 2012 that will also benefit The Children’s Advocacy Center.
As a child my letters to Santa asked for him to bring me dolls. My letter to Santa now would ask that he help me get my law in every state and the funds be available to make that happen. My faith isn’t in Santa my faith is in God and I know He will provide. The same way He provided His Son for all of our sins during our time on this Earth. After all Jesus is the reason for the season.
As I close this letter I ask you to share it with someone. Ask them to join hands in Erin’s Mission to take Erin’s law national by reaching out to their senators, passing on Erin’s Mission video, and donating to Erin’s Law. Come follow us on Erin’s Law facebook page. I hope each and everyone of you reading this has a very blessed Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year.
In the holiday season I ask that you pass this video on to 5-10 people and ask them to do the same. My goal is to get thousands to have viewed this video by the New Year when several more states will be introducing Erin’s law in 2012.
3 Weeks ago here I was introducing “Erin’s Law” in Syracuse, New York. Right now where news is breaking of another coach abusing a child. This is why it is so important we get Erin’s law passed in all 50 states. Children need to be empowered with their voice.
By now we all have heard about Penn State. All you need to do is turn on the television and whether you are watching the news or sports they are talking about it.
Jerry Sandusky doesn’t have many free days left before he is locked away for the rest of his life. He is a perfect example of why we need Erin’s Law in every state. Adults in charge witnessed children being molested by assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and while they reported it they did not take it to the police which they should have reported immediately when they saw it happen. No ifs, ands, buts, about it. They witnessed a horrific act take place or were told about these horrific acts being done to children and they turned a blind eye.
The Board of Trustees did exactly what needed to be done and that was firing the President of the University and head coach Joe Paterno. Joe started off doing the right thing by taking it to the President but when the President did not go to police with the matter this is when it was Joe Paterno’s moral duty to report it to police. Instead more children’s innocence would be stolen all in the sake of protecting the Universities reputation. A school’s image is more important in the mind of a University President then innocent children who fell into the hands of a very dangerous sick individual who used his authority to groom and rape children. Reports have said Sandusky gave the children he abused many gifts. Often sexual predators use gifts as a way to silence children on top of threats. Several adults over a fifteen year time period were aware of Jerry Sandusky’s actions yet Jerry continued to be around children and abusing several more.
If these children had learned in school the same way they are educated on tornado drills, bus drills, fire drills, DARE, Stranger Danger, Internet Safety, Bully Intervention, etc. on safe touch, unsafe touch, safe secrets, unsafe secrets, how to get away and tell today then these children would have had the courage to speak up and keep telling an adult until someone put an end to their horror. Instead they were never educated because we fail to educate kids on sexual abuse which is why I went after Erin’s law. The law that would have empowered these children with the power to use their voice and tell someone. So many more children could have been saved from the hands of Jerry Sandusky had they been educated. Parents would have been educated through Erin’s law on what to talk about with their kids and the warning signs to look for in a child that has been abused. One parent whose child was abused spoke openly without her identity being revealed and she shared how her son’s behavior changed, he began acting out, showed lots of anger, and did not want to be around Sandusky. She went to the school guidance counselor about it and the guidance counselor brushed it off saying it is a phase he is going through. Had this mother been educated on the biggest silent epidemic in this world, that being sexual abuse of children, then she would have known to talk to her son and her son would have known to talk and not keep these secrets.
I would advise any parent never to let your kids stay the night with their coach. Invites to overnights by a coach, youth group leader, etc. is a red flag right there. That should be a strict boundary in every household. I don’t care how well you think you know the person. Is the risk really worth it knowing your child could fall hands to a predator you never imagined would do such a thing. It is time for the world to take off their blinders and wake up. What has happened at Penn State as I have been saying for years is happening in our own backyards. Just take a look in your own community. These sex offenders live in your communities and you don’t even know it because many have not been caught. Not until we educate children through Erin’s Law in schools will more children break their silence. My law will prevent what happened at Penn State from ever happening again because children won’t spend years in silence because they will be educated to know this is wrong and not to keep it a secret. Children will be turning these sexual predators in the first time it happens because they will be getting the other end of the message. The first message is to stay silent, this is our secret, don’t tell anyone, I will hurt you, your family, no one will believe you, etc. The message that is missing throughout society is the educational piece. Don’t keep this a secret, tell someone, we will believe you, keep telling until someone takes action, who are safe people in your life you can tell if this happened to you, etc.” Sexual predators don’t just take children’s innocence they take their voice when they are being abused. We have to empower children to use their voice and not fall into the trap of silence.
Penn State needs to use what happened in their community and take action against this silent epidemic. They now have the reputation that won’t be going away. This scandal will be one talked about decades from now so they now have the power to make change happen in society. Addressing the silence around sexual abuse and demanding change. Being a voice for the 39 million survivors that exist in America alone. Urging their lawmakers and Governor to pass Erin’s Law in their state.
I turned the painful events of sexual abuse and rape in my childhood into putting a face and voice on this silent epidemic in my two books Stolen Innocence and Living For Today, passing Erin’s Law in Illinois and Missouri and eventually will get it passed in all 50 states, and flying the country speaking before thousands of people the past 7 1/2 years to shatter the silence, stigma, and shame around sexual abuse. The same way I turned the tragic events in my life into triumph the same is possible for the reputation of Penn State. They can do something positive about this unlike the riots that broke out this week. They can raise awareness and become a campus that is a face and voice on child sexual abuse for educational institutes around this country and world.
With an estimated 39 million survivors of sexual abuse in America 3 million of those are children right now living in our country. That 3 million could fill 46 national football stadiums. Imagine that for a moment 46 national football stadiums of children that have been sexually abused. Joe Paterno was Penn State head football coach for 46 years. For every year he was head coach the entire football stadium could be the 3 million children in America who were sexually abused. These children are real and the life long challenges they face because of sexual abuse can be life altering. Shame and pain that you could never imagine if you have never been abused. These children often grow up to be adults many carrying their silence into adulthood because the shame is too great. Because of the silence around sexual abuse they often feel so alone in this world. Alone in a world where a past comes back to haunt them in nightmares and flashbacks. Pulling them right back into reliving the trauma they suffered. Many survivors of sexual abuse as children will spend years in therapy trying to come to terms with what happened and learn how to go on living a life and not be defined by this.
I was interviewed by a Penn State writer for the college paper today for a story that will run in the next day or two. As I tried to explain to her that I wanted her to get across to her study body is the fact that this isn’t about college football. We are talking about innocent children who were raped at the hands of a very sick individual who preyed on them while they were doing something they loved, playing football. I would not be surprised if several of these children turned away from ever playing football again after what happened because of the painful reminder it brings back. I spoke back in April at a child abuse conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania not very far at all from Penn State. I had just come from speaking the day before at a New Jersey child abuse conference and drove two hours into Pennsylvania in my rental car. I was driving into a town that was known for being chocolate capital of the country. The light posts in the downtown were Hershey kisses, they have chocolate businesses every where and the biggest attraction is chocolate world where children go for school field trips and parents take kids. If you like chocolate you were in the right town and you would think it would be hard to pass through this town without stopping for chocolate. Well as I explained in my speech I don’t eat chocolate. I actually hate it. I won’t eat chocolate cake, brownies, frosting, ice cream, etc. How is it possible to hate chocolate? Well if you have read my books I explain clearly in them why I don’t eat chocolate you see I use to love chocolate as a kid. It took one night celebrating my grandfather’s birthday with all my other relatives in 1998 for me to find myself locked in a dark bedroom with a cousin on top of me, molesting me, begging him to let me go, hearing the sounds of happy birthday being sung downstairs to my grandfather, and eventually being told by my cousin to go get cake with him. I sat at a table in the kitchen in silence with a chocolate piece on cake and my cousin taking a seat right across from me with his piece of cake and just smiling at me with that grin I will never be able to erase from my mind. I felt my stomach turn and with the rich taste of chocolate in my mouth and I just wanted to throw up. He often gave me something called a Star Crunch after abusing me at his house. Star Crunch was chocolate coated with caramel and rice crispy. Anytime I put any form of chocolate in my mouth it became triggering and the rich taste of it would immediately bring me back to memories of abuse. I have tested myself and have learned the only way chocolate doesn’t do that to me is chocolate with peanut butter in it. Here is one example how someone even like myself that is so outspoken on sexual abuse can also continue to be affected by actions of someone who abused me.
Penn State is a national tragedy and many lives have been hurt. It is time to raise up and tackle this issue that needs to be addressed in every state, educated in every school, every home, and survivors need to know they have nothing to be ashamed of. I have no doubt that more boys will come forward and that number of 8 will get higher. If you know someone or are someone that has been abused and never told anyone or did tell someone and nothing was done then tell someone today. You have nothing to be ashamed of and you could be helping others come forward and find their voice. You find a new sense of peace finding your voice.
God Bless the survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of Jerry Sandusky. Justice will come I promise!
PENN STATE be an example for others, start to educate, raise awareness, go after Erin’s Law. The country is watching. Make us proud.
We all have a purpose in life. Have you discovered yours yet? It can be whatever you feel you were meant to do with your life. What is your calling? Is there something you want to do but think you cannot do it. Anything is possible as long as you believe in yourself.
I discovered my purpose after going public with the sexual abuse I endured in my life. I never imagined when I made the decision to take my diary and turn it into a book it would lead to discovering my purpose. I thought when I first began speaking out, my purpose was to just put a face and voice on sexual abuse and give others courage but I soon discovered I had a bigger purpose. A purpose to use my life as a mission to protect other children from abuse by creating this law. A law called “Erin’s law” that has been heard around the world after I shared it on Oprah last October.
A law I was determined to get passed in my state of Illinois. A law that I got passed in the Senate and House with all yes votes and eventually signed by the Governor this year. I am now taking this crusade national and won’t stop until I get it passed in all 50 states. If you know me by now I get accomplished what I go after. Children, parents, educators, and society as a whole need to be educated on sexual abuse. It is time we stop tip toeing around sexual abuse because it will never go away so it is time to start talking about it. This generation and the generations to come will not live in the shadows of this silent epidemic. It won’t be a silent epidemic forever. I am on a mission to change that and Erin’s law will do just that.
Erin’s law was signed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon back in July. I testified for that state by video. Now that I am taking this crusade national I am seriously ready to be like all your candidates who run for Presidential office and get on my campaign bus. The only difference is I am not running for President 9 yrs. too young for that and have no plans for it in the future. I would be making my stop in every state to get Erin’s law heard by lawmakers testifying to each Senate and House in each state to explain to them why this is so important. After I talk the only people who should not be standing with me in agreement is the sex offenders themselves. And for the first time in 7 years since I took my story public I had a sex offender write me a letter. A father last week who molested his own daughter, turned himself into a counselor because he knew what he was doing was wrong. He saw a rebroadcast of a speech I gave in his state of Washington back in September. He wrote me to completely agree with my law and added in his letter to me that parents should also be warned how sex offenders groom kids, get them to stay silent, and the warning signs to look for. I’m even getting s sex offender to agree with me on my law. Certainly didn’t see that coming. He ended his letter by saying he hopes his own daughter can one day forgive him the way I shared in my speech of forgiving my cousin.
Senator Valesky, Erin Merryn, Senator Klein at New York Press Conference Oct. 25th.
Last week I was in New York introducing Erin’s law with two New York Senators Klein and Valesky after speaking at a child abuse state conference. New York is the next state to be introducing my law this January in 2012. I spoke with a House of Rep. from Minnesota this week who is going to go after introducing my law and wants me to come do a press conference in Minnesota. I also have New Mexico and Indiana legislators going after Erin’s law for 2012. I know more will follow I have no doubt.
I have discovered my purpose and I will be fighting for it until my final day on this earth.
I talk to God on a daily basis and He tells me daily my work here isn’t done. He isn’t ready for me anytime soon.
I know I never imagined when I stepped out in the public with my life that it would become what it has. So now I can only imagine what the years ahead will look like. I can only imagine. I already have some amazing thoughts in my mind. Only time will tell. In time I will share more. I have to leave some of my life a mystery to the thousands of you who follow me. Not everything can be revealed just yet.
I started this off asking you what your purpose is? Have you discovered it? Don’t tell me you don’t have a purpose, we all do. Maybe you need to just look a little deeper inside. The answers come from within. I found mine there.
Check out news covering Erin’s Law press conference yesterday in Syracuse, New York. I spoke at child abuse conference in the morning and did press conference in the afternoon. Amazing things to come. I am on a 50 state mission to protect children through this law and nothing will stop me.
Would you describe yourself as a person who is glass half full or half empty? The glass half full is usually described as someone who is optimistic and happy where half empty look at life in a negative/ pessimistic way. The choice on how you look at life is up to you. I can personally say I have lived life with the half empty attitude and half full attitude. When I started living life with the half full attitude I started to appreciate life and realized how much of my own life I lost due to the negative attitude I had. The choice is a personal one we all get to make. There are so many things that happen to all of us that are out of our control however we can choose to allow negative events continue to impact us in a negative way or you can begin to fill yourself up and live life with the glass half full. It is a pretty depressing life when your looking at so much in a negative way. Would you rather surround yourself with someone who is living life with a full glass or empty? Obviously full glass people are going to be positive and probably make you feel good to be around. Where someone living life with a half empty glass will probably bring you down. People that live with a half empty glass probably notice people starting to walk away from you. It is one thing if your just having a bad day and venting to your friend, but if becomes consistent who is going to want to be around you. Now let me be clear of something there is a big difference in someone that is clinically depressed and someone that just has a bad attitude and outlook on life. Someone that is clinically depressed needs to see a doctor and figure out what is going on. Someone that has a bad attitude is not going to attract a crowd instead lose friends or have trouble making them.
I recently was having lunch with a friend and she was telling me how I am unique that not many people can do what I accomplished. I disagreed with her. I looked at her and said you can do anything you set your mind to and as long as you have the determination, motivation, and positive attitude to get accomplished what you are going after and not give up when you hit some road blocks along the way. With the right attitude, determination, motivation, and full glass you can accomplish what you set your mind to.
I returned Friday night from my trip to Austin, Texas Friday where I spoke to a crowd of 600 people for Texas CASA conference. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate for kids who have been abused and often removed from home. The advocate is someone who is a support person in their life during the court proceedings. It takes special people to do what these amazing volunteers do for abused kids. After my speech I was signing books and there is a constant conversation I am coming across from many people I meet at the events I speak at. “How can you be so positive after the horror I experienced as a child?” Well the best way for me to answer that is I tried the negative path living life with the glass half-empty and I soon began to realize how much of my life I was giving away and the self-destructive path I was going down. While I did not choose to be raped and molested as a kid I did have a choice on how I responded in the aftermath. For many years I lived with a half-empty glass. Actually it was more then half empty it was nearly completely empty. I finally came to realize I was choosing this life for myself and had an awakening and began to turn my life around and little by little began to fill my glass up and plan to never look at life with the half- glass empty attitude again. So how do you live your life with a glass half full or half empty attitude. Remember the choice is ultimately yours.
Signing books in Austin, Texas Friday
I choose not to stand behind the podium when my speech actually began and instead right front and center since I don’t use notes and only need a podium to place my diary and other resources I use on.
What a line there was during the book signing. It went on for an hour.
Thank you to Barnes and Nobles for coming on site to the conference and selling my books. They ordered 100 copies of each of my books “Stolen Innocence and Living For Today” my publishing company accidentally shipped 200 copies of each book but good thing they did because I signed more then 100 copies of each book and was still signing when I had to catch my flight home so I briefly signed roughly two dozen more copies to be placed in the store.
Next it is off to New York a week from now to speak at a state conference and introduce Erin’s law in New York during a press conference with two New York Senators. Anything is possible when your glass is half full!
Last week while working away on my 3rd book I got an email from a producer at Harpo. She asked me if I had time to talk. I thought well this is strange why are they calling me Oprah ended her show. I spoke with the producer who was calling about a letter I sent 4 years ago on the topic of forgiveness. I mentioned that I was on the show last year reading my cousin’s apology and talking about Erin’s Law. She remembered the show and told me she needed to go do her homework and would follow up. I thought that would be the end of it but it wasn’t.
For the next several days last week we spoke on the phone. I was asked about my feelings on forgiveness and I told her exactly what I talk in depth about in my 2nd book Living For Today.
Chapter 9 is called “The Final Stage in Healing” and I start off saying. “It is the F word people struggle to say. No I am not talking about that four-letter swear word people slip out in anger and frustration. I am talking about forgiveness. It is the stage in healing that seems unimaginable. It is a word I never thought I would say to the men who hurt me. For many years I was consumed daily by feelings of anger and rage towards Brian and Richard. There came a point in my healing that I realized I cannot change what happened, but it did not mean I had to stay stuck in an unhealthy place either. Everyone in life has been hurt in one way or another through the actions or words of someone else. We can choose to stay angry and bitter towards those who have hurt us, or we can let go and live fulfilled lives, not being tied down by our pain but instead rising above it and growing from it. Forgiveness is a choice we humans can make.
I end my 2nd book with this on page 246. I have repeated it over and over in the course of writing Living For Today, and I will repeat it just once more: Forgiveness is what set me free. Choosing to forgive has led me to live for today.
Tonight I will be sitting in on Oprah’s Life Class talking about “Letting Go of Anger” and then immediately following is her webcast where you can join us in the live discussion tonight 9/8c. There you will see me asking Oprah a question on forgiveness. I think it is a pretty powerful question and not sure how she is going to answer it. I guess we will find out tonight. Click below to log on tonight and join the conversation and watch live.
For you to Give: Forgiveness is something for you to give. You will realize how you are truly giving yourself a gift by forgiving and it is something for you to give when you and only you are ready. You will notice a total transformation in your life and the feelings of anger, rage, hatred, and bitterness will lift and suddenly you will feel peace, comfort, and healing. You will realize the day you learn to forgive is the day you stop allowing the actions of someone else to not steal another moment of your life and happiness. The choice is yours.
