Student Stories: Britney B.
4 MINUTE READ • STUDENT STORIES
Students come to Grad Solutions for a lot of different reasons. Unfortunately, all too often trauma is a huge contributing factor - whether the traumas of life and growing up or challenges presented in the traditional school system.
Britney Bryant is a student at 19 and has experienced various traumas. Like many young women, in middle school, she experienced bullying, isolation, and personal betrayals within her close friends. It got so bad, she ended up transferring schools.
Then her father passed away unexpectedly. A daddy’s girl at heart, this shook Britney to her core. She found herself grieving and vulnerable.
When she met the young man who would later become her boyfriend and abuser, she had no idea that his attentions would turn dangerous. He assaulted Britney on campus and in a moment when school should have been a safe place for Britney, it became a place of trauma. Instead of being protected by the institutions and the people within her school, she was abused, with no one to step in on her behalf.
The assault continued, but it changed over time, becoming more physical. When her mother noticed the bruises, she got the school involved, and Britney’s abuser was suspended. What little justice she felt was fleeting - Britney soon faced cyber-bullying from her abuser and other students at the school.
Abuse leaves lasting scars: Britney was tormented by eating disorders, extreme anxiety, narcolepsy, image distortion, depression, self-hatred, and attempted suicides. Simply going to school each day held such trauma, self-doubt, and bullying that her education became all but unimportant.
Things ultimately changed for Britney because of a single phone call. It was a mentor from Graduation Solutions. She enrolled in school, started working toward her high school diploma while also working a full-time job. Her mentor, Jessie, has been with her every step of the way, and Britney says she has helped her to break out of her shell. Not only that, but Britney stopped self-harming entirely - something that she, at one point, thought would be a part of her life forever.
In fact, she will be studying to become a psychologist and help others who face similarities to what she has been through. She has truly found her calling and is eager for graduation and the beginning of this next phase in her life. Every day is a gift, and Britney wants to be sure that others know it as well.