Becoming, in Hindsight: Migration toward Emotional Maturation through Vulnerability

As a queer disabled woman, vulnerability is a familiar feeling. It is excruciating to be seen with such clarity, mostly by those who do not share your lived experience. After suffering emotional trauma in my early 20s, the past four years have been a conscious investment in experiencing vulnerability to learn, adapt, grow, and heal. I recount the most significant experiences here, creating a fractured chronological narrative weave, whilst providing commentary in hindsight as my present self. The process of becoming is made visible through instances of incidental and purposeful vulnerability. This essay aims to share my story with others as an act of feminist resistance to silence and intimate partner violence. This is a true story that continues to unfurl mindfully, vulnerably, and with deep respect for process and time. Embracing that which makes you vulnerable also makes you formidably powerful with the capacity for infinite compassion.