I am a trauma survivor. After my house fire left me homeless and my sister died a week later from an overdose, I had a moment when the pain was just too great. I crumbled to the floor of the motel room I was staying and sobbed and screamed for hours in the fetal position. My friend Jack held my hand and comforted me. The next morning, we painted this together. I drew the crying woman and painted purple waves around her. Jack called me “Wavy Purple” after that, and that became my new identity. The woman who survived. It was a moment of intense spiritual transformation. I became a phoenix, rising from the ashes, newly empowered and ready for the next chapter of my life. I never looked back.