Who is Daniella? ❤
My name is Daniella, but most people call me Dani for short. I was born and raised in the sunny, western United States and recently moved to a new state, something I thought I would never have the courage to do.
I was raised in what I thought to be a normal home. Doesn't everyone have that early childhood memory of their grandmother drunkenly waving a butcher knife at their mother, with us kids (my brother and I)acting as a shield? No? Just me? My bad…
My most influential memories are probably from the years of 8 to 13, my formative years where (to say the very least) I went through some pretty fucked up shit. I remember having to live with a relative. It was my mom, myself and 2 younger brothers; my parents were going through a separation (I think). I ended up having to share a room with a cousin who was 4 years older than me, who decided to expose naïve me to pornography and then decided we should “experiment” with each other. I remember coming home from school one day to my mom and aunt blaming ME for the porn stash under my cousin’s bed. Yes, they blamed ME: the eight year old who was only there on a temporary basis, instead of the 12-year-old pathological liar with a known mean streak.
When we finally were able to get out of there (my parents reconciled, I guess…), we kind of bounced around until mom and dad bought their first house the summer I turned 13. I was now a home-schooled kid following a strict religious ideology that I felt imprisoned by: NO secular music, NO immodest clothes for me, NO boys… pretty much NO FUN WHATSOEVER OR YOU WILL END UP IN HELL kind of rules. We would read from the Bible every single night as a family (from the KJV, of course) so my mom could remind us of God’s rules and how if we ever broke any of them that we would not only be disappointing her, by God Himself. We needed to be good, obedient children of God and follow rules without question or the Devil was going to get us! 😈 I became very good at lying and hiding myself away, so no one would catch on that I loved reading spooky stories, wearing black and celebrating Halloween: all things forbidden in my home. I was shamed about being curious about sex: “That’s lustful thinking! Just wait until your married! No man wants a soiled bride!” At the age of 19 and still living with my parents, I seriously wanted nothing more than to remain single and child-free!
By the time I turned 21, I’d made up in my mind that God Himself hated me, I was absolutely going to Hell and nothing was going to change that. With that mindset, I kind of went crazy: lots of drinking, partying and, worst of all, a LOT of unprotected sex. Today, I’m unabashedly grateful I didn’t end up pregnant or plagued by an STI/STD.
When I met Matt in 2002, we were both in college and not sure what to do with our lives. He was going to school at the urging of his best friend (even though he had a high-salary job) and I was there because I needed to finish my degree. I’d already been published in our school’s magazine twice, but I was directed by my family to go into something more substantial in order to “pay the bills”. Our relationship began with instant physical attraction, followed by spending lots of $$$ on dates and screwing each others’ brains out.
Within 3 years, we were married.
We’ve just celebrated 16 years as man and wife. We have 2 children and we face life day by day, rolling with whatever life throws at us. We are Christians, but I consider myself a Progressive Christian. I’ve broken away from the binding theologies that once held me hostage and adhere to the simplicity of Jesus’ teaching:
Love your neighbor as yourself. ~Matthew 22:39
If you’re reading this, please know that I love you. We don’t know each other, but I love you. YOU are here with purpose and you need to know YOU ARE IMPORTANT and YOU ARE LOVED!
I will try my best to write on Medium as much as I can, hopefully growing in better content for you to enjoy reading. I have a few postings planned, so please stay connected. ❤
I’m not a professional writer, but I do love to write. Mostly about my experiences, but I also love to write fiction and even some erotica…😉
I hope you stick around and take this journey with me. 😁
Thank you so much for reading, my heart overflows with gratitude. Please take care of yourself. ❤
