If anyone saw me crying in the coffee shop while writing this, mind your business.

Note: This post contains mentions of child abuse and suicidal thoughts. 

"If you do, she does too."—smellyoctopus333

"Honestly, I should have played a sport and done debate. Both of those activities would have been better for me, both in terms of building my self-confidence and my physical health. I honestly mostly chose theatre cause it meant I wouldn’t be at home with my abusive stepfather as much. When you’re in rehearsals until 10 or 11 p.m. every night, there’s way less time for your stepfather to abuse you."—tadh2

"I hope you can see my city one day soon. St. Petersburg is worth the wait! I'm going back next summer for the first time in quite a while, and I'm really looking forward to it. Things are slowly getting back to normal there, although I miss the £40 Wizz Air flights from London (it's now around £500 via Istanbul or Dubai)."—wickedgoose68

Note: Some comments have been edited for length/clarity.

If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453(4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages.

Dial 988 in the US to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386. Find other international suicide helplines at Befrienders Worldwide (befrienders.org).