FAMILY

"Family is supposed to

Be our haven

Very often, it's the

Place where we find

The deepest heartache"

- Iyanle Vanzant

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Aiyla POV

Sighing, I thought back to the life I had and all the things I went through throughout my life. The memory still haunts me, sometimes all the pain I went through because of my family's cruelty was enough for me to be strong and stand up for myself and fight for the life I deserved.

So many things have happened in my life with lots of ups and downs and coming across those hard times was brutal for me.

Looking back at old times and memories now I feel so proud of myself and of what I have become today. It is that of my dark past that I have become so successful and achieved so much in my life.

Life is claimed to give you your biggest lesson, and that is exactly what happened to me; life taught me my greatest lesson and showed me the harsh reality of so-called "Life."

Real-life is not like a fairytale story; real life is full of thorns, pains, suffering, and struggle, and my life was no fairytale either; it was a brutal and bitter reality that crushed me under the weight of my so-called family's mistakes.

I laugh and cry when I remember my family and the life they gave me, which was full of thorns and pins. I was the consequence of their love or their error, which I still don't understand, or maybe I committed a great sin in a previous life that caused me to experience so much misery in this life, or maybe my misfortunes and sufferings were the results of bad karma that I had to expend in this life.

When I consider all of my trials, I believe I intended to experience the consequences to grow tough and powerful to make my future better and better.

It is said that your family is believed to reflect you. Your family's values and culture are reflected in whatever good and bad actions you choose and act.

It reveals your upbringing, behaviour, culture, values, and family customs, whether directly or indirectly.

It is a blessing to have a family for your children, and not everyone is fortunate enough to have one. It is therefore important to appreciate what you have.

Every child has the right to grow up in a loving and happy home. Children require a loving, secure, and stable environment in which to grow and spend their time.

Once a child is born, they have the right to a good, healthy, and stable family, but the terrible reality is that not every child or individual is fortunate enough to have a stable family.

Everyone's family is their world and universe.

Love, support, trust, sacrifice, honesty, protection, security, acceptance, respect, and loyalty are all part of the family. No family can be complete without them.

Family is a person's and a child's primary support system as they grow up. It also has an impact on a child's upbringing, social behaviour, and personality.

A youngster learns to be ethical, empathetic, fair, honest, and to love and care for his or her family. It also instils life principles to live a happy and healthy life.

Children learn the fundamental values, customs, and culture of society and civilization through their families.

A youngster must also be properly fostered, adored, and shaped into responsible individuals.

It is the responsibility and job of the family to offer the greatest child care possible. As a result, kids can develop into physically, cognitively, and emotionally robust adults.

 Family can also help you become a better person. They are the ones who believe in you, have faith in you, stand by you when the rest of the world doubts you, and who will cheer you up when you are down.

Family moulds you, helps you grow and develop, supports you and is there for you in highs and lows.

My family and life were like a beautiful dream to me, one that I never wanted to wake up from.

With their love and support, I had hope and aspired to fly high.

But, well, dreams are just that, right? It may break at any minute, and you would be completely unaware of what is going on.

Life can be amusing and unjust at times, and no one can predict what will happen in a matter of seconds.

"What you have today may go tomorrow," as the saying goes.

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns.

To put it another way, life is like a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs.

What does it mean to have a stable family for a child, and how does it affect their life? What if that family is the source of a child's grief, suffering, and abuse?

So, how will that child deal with and survive her torturous life, which is the source of her tears?

How is that child going to shape her life and future? A family which is also the key to her life is the one breaking her apart; how can she trust people and feel secure if she cannot trust her only family and feel safe within.

As the above phrase describes "Family was supposed to be my haven but it's also the place where I got my deepest heartache from" This is my story, my "Survival Journey"!

My name is Aiyla Sequeira, born in a rich and big joint family including mom, dad, elder brother, uncle, aunts, grandpa and 3 cousins. Being the youngest child of the family sure came with advantages.

I was loved, cared for, adored, spoiled, and well-protected could say I was like a doll to everyone and I was a happy child as far as I know and remember.

My parents loved me a lot and my brother was very protective of me, I had a happy family. Both I and my brother were lucky to have such a family or that's what we were made to perceive.

People used to say I was born with a silver spoon, they used to call me a millionaire's granddaughter. When I think of it it's like a joke to me now. 

Sure I was born in a rich and well-known family; sure I did spend my half childhood in luxury, love, care and protection but it was just an illusion, a short-lived fantasy. 

Therefore, I would not call myself born with a silver spoon child as it was only temporary. Sure some children are born with good fates, and stable families and who do not even know what suffering and pain are; hell! I did not know about sorrow, suffering and pain until I experienced it but before that, I had a perfect and stable childhood. 

When I think of people who used to say I had a good fate I laugh at it, it's like a joke to me now; a brutal joke!

I had a twisted fate, who knew life can be so unpredictable and cruel. Earlier I said life is uncertain. Well, it was the same for me. My happy days were gone in a flash. 

In a warped way, life played a notorious game with me and my life changed dramatically. All my hopes, and dreams got crushed; it left me broken and mashed.

My family and my life were just delusional for me. Everything I believed and trusted was all a big lie and fake. The love, faith, and trust I had in myself and for my family all got destroyed and I was left smashed, broken and beyond repair.

And once a happy family was fucked up and gutted. Now a litre is left as a memory, fragments "good and bad" which I cherish and which also haunt me and bring tears to my eyes; leaving my heart in pain.