In my 30’s I found myself divorced and raising two young children alone. I was gripped with fear that my children would somehow be penalized by the divorce and not be successful in school or in life. At the time one of my problems was how to select positive role models for my son. I was driven by the desire to make certain that they would be successful despite the parents being divorced.

In the beginning of a relationship, there is excitement and enchantment. That certainly was the case for Yvette Cade, who told her story on The Oprah Winfrey Show. When she first met Roger Hargrave, she said he was seemed very loving and caring. Shortly after they married, Hargrave became verbally abusive. It wasn’t long before his insults led to physical abuse. Yvette worked up the courage to separate from Hargrave but that didn’t end the abuse. “I felt like a prisoner in my own home,” she told Oprah during the episode that originally aired May 3, 2006.

have heard this enduring quote time and time again. It suggests that when life presents obstacles that would otherwise stifle your creativity, spirit or mere existence, combat that challenge head on. Little did writer, producer, Diana Rivera know that the words once uttered by Joan Collins would be a mantra for her day to day survival as a single parent.

It was on April 20, 1999 that I realized I needed to value my friend’s more because, like Columbine, they can be taken away in a second. Often teenagers believe that once they hit high school, that they are all grown up and know everything. It was my sophomore year, when my brother left for college that I had to become independent and make decisions on my own without running to his side. Often teenagers believe that they are too young to lend a helping hand to others.

We had a home computer and we had been receiving internet access for a few months. But I didn’t think any harm could come from it. I had AOL and I had set the child safety restraints on the computer, not knowing there would be any danger.