An impact moment that motivated me to be better in my life was finding out I was pregnant by my now ex-boyfriend. He was not only emotionally abusive, but also mentally, sexually and physically abusive. We'd been together for a year before I had gotten pregnant and things between us were great, or so I thought. It didn't take long after finding out for him to be a completely different person; but I just thought maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt which now I know was wrong of me. Me not leaving when he changed made him think he had some type of power over me which for a minute I believed he did. During my labor I had to deal with him running off at the mouth and not being the comfort he should have been. I even had nurses ask me if they needed to kick him out of the room or have someone sit down and talk to him. Finally, after twenty plus hours in labor he had the audacity to get mad at me for not giving in to his advances. Well fast forward a month we had gotten back together because I thought he was changing for the better. He had been helping with our daughter Oakleigh, being a comfort to me, he was even helping my great grandmother with many things. Prior to my daughter turning three months we had broken up again only this time it was because I had found out he had a girlfriend. Not long after finding out he had decided to come to my house one night with the girlfriend and throw all of Oakleigh’s pacifiers and blankets out of his car window and onto the road as well as my front yard. So, I went over to get her stuff and he tried to run over my toes. This night was like a switch for me because he had texted and said I needed to focus on my daughter, and he’d focus on his girlfriend. I had finally come to the realization that there's no point in me hoping he’ll be a better person. Lastly, I had taken the things he put me through and used it to be better. I graduated high school with mainly all A’s, got accepted into colleges, found a babysitting job, and found someone who loves me and my daughter. I couldn’t bear the thought of my daughter growing up and seeing her mother getting put down and beat up every day because then she’d be like me. My mother was in abusive relationships all her life and instead of getting away she let it get to her and ended up in jail for twenty-two years. I must be a good example for my child. Someone she can look up too and say wow my mother went through a lot of things and still had the courage to go to college. My past does not and will not ever define me. Now I know with only being eighteen there are many things to come, but I am not my mistakes nor am I someone who is willing to give up so easily. With my daughter now being one year’s old I’ll admit things are hard at times especially with barely any help from her father, but I can’t and won’t let that get to me. I strive to graduate college and have an amazing career so that my daughter can grow up in a healthy and non-struggling home.