I am a better person because of my parents' divorce. Of course, you would immediately assume that there is some deep reason why I should feel this way, but I assure you that I believe that divorce is a positive reaction to a negative situation. Breaking up two people's marriages is never considered a joyful idea in itself, but my experiences have come to highlight the benefits of this frowned upon idea. Without my parents' separation, I would never have accepted change in my life, appreciated human individuality or valued the circumstances of others. My growth began with their divorce, and their divorce began with a series of events that I will quickly explain. My parents were engaged in a heated debate over financial matters, a subject foreign to my eleven-year-old intellect. As the discussion turned to excitement and anger, the room descended into suffocating density. At that point, I immediately knew where this was going and rushed my younger brother upstairs to get him out of harm's way. There had never been any physical danger to protect him from, but it was as if I was doing this to prevent his innocent mind from becoming one like mine; doubtful and angry. Why can't my parents get along? Why are they fighting? Why does my life have to be like this? Why me? Why are they so indifferent to our feelings? What have we done to deserve this lifestyle? Why us? I spent too much time second-guessing myself and complaining that my parents didn't love me enough to stay happy with each other. Among my questions, there was always the little incident that disturbed my parents by saying: "Are you getting divorced?" I'm not sure where I first heard this word, but it became my magic word that took everything... middle of paper... inflicted. This woman, who I consider to be so strong, healthy and admirable, admits to me that her life of abuse led her to use drugs and drink alcohol. Fortunately, she eventually recovered from her addiction and was able to move on with her life and then forgive her father. She mentioned that her parents had thought about it, but never divorced and were still married to this day, but always wished it would be that easy for her family to just end their marriage. As reported by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), one in four women experience domestic violence in their lifetime, and children who witness this abuse are also at greatest risk of developing violent behavior. To women who are abused in front of their children, please save the next generation and file for divorce.