This episode continues with my time at the group home, where I became tangled up in relationships with two boys while also forming a new friendship that brought some light into a heavy season. Not long after, I was able to bring more of my belongings from Monica and Steve’s, small pieces of familiarity in an unfamiliar place.

In the middle of all of this, there was a consistent adult male who became a safe place in an environment that often felt unstable. Books became another refuge, giving me somewhere else to disappear when real life felt too heavy. And then there was the tattoo, something I got with the help of someone who should have been a protector. It was one of the ways I tried to find a sense of control when everything else in my life felt like it didn’t have any. At the same time, I was starting to slip in school, the weight of everything making it harder to keep up.

This part of the journey reflects how survival can take many different forms, from risky choices to quiet escapes, and why it is so important to look back on those moments with compassion instead of shame.

The episode closes with a Broken to Built reflection question, a Rebuild Challenge, and a prayer for anyone still carrying the weight of their past.