The summer before her junior year of college, Brittney was invited to a party at the home of a man she had dated in high school. Brittney had made plans to stay with a friend after the party that night, but her friend missed her phone call. Through some persuasion, her former boyfriend convinced her to stay the night in one of the twin beds in his bedroom. The two had amicably parted ways two years before, but that night he wanted to know why they were no longer together. Brittney tried to stop the conversation by explaining she had no desire to rekindle their relationship. Her former boyfriend became enraged at her answer. As the violence escalated, Brittney continued to try to stop his attacks and for some reason, he suddenly stopped. Brittney was able to grab her stuff and run away from the situation. Brittany said, “I feared for my life. Once he did stop, I got away. I felt ashamed, like I deserved it, but I don’t know why.” She went on to say that she didn’t feel like she could tell anyone what had happened for fear of being judged. This reluctance to share left her feeling hopeless, a feeling she was not familiar with.
Two years after the incident, Brittney began to receive counseling. Through her work with Safe Alliance, Brittney was able to help facilitate a campaign called, “Share Your Story” that created a platform for other women to share their stories and empower survivors to create a positive movement from the negative things that have happened to them. Brittney hopes to one day become a lobbyist and advocate on behalf of domestic violence victims’ rights.
Brittney hopes by sharing her story she will encourage others to speak up about the things that have been done to them. She also hopes that her story will empower survivors to know that no matter what someone is telling them, what happened to them is not their fault. Brittney said she wants to remind victims that, “Nothing you do or say would ever justify someone putting their hands on you.”
Today Brittney is an entrepreneur and through this experience she has found herself better equipped to handle setbacks in the business world. Starting out she thought getting clients would be an easy process, after quickly learning that was not the case, Brittney was able to call on the skills she learned from dealing with this horrible experience in her life to stand strong and continue fighting for what she wants. She has also learned the importance of setting boundaries in her life. Just as she made changes in her life in regards to situations she would put herself in to protect herself from becoming a victim again, she learned that boundaries are also important in business relationships.
Brittney relies heavily on her faith to get her through the challenges of life. Brittney says that nothing in her life has helped her more than her faith, it wakes her up in the morning and continues to have a powerful effect on her life. Brittney focuses a lot on helping others today who are also survivors. She feels that taking the time to listen to others may sound small but sometimes that is exactly what someone is looking for. Brittney believes that relationships should be mutually beneficial and that they are all about growing each other as individuals.
Brittney is the daughter of former NBA star Muggsy Bogues and his wife Kim. Muggsy is known for being the shortest player to ever play in the NBA. Brittney learned from her parents the importance of fighting through whatever is attempting to hold you back to chase your dreams. Whether it was Muggsy’s 14+ year NBA career, her mom’s career as a business woman or even her grandfather’s career as a physician assistant, she has always known the importance of believing in yourself and your dreams. Like everyone else, Brittney has things she still struggles with daily; things like time management. But she’s learning and growing in those things and is finding ways to improve her life every single day.
Brittney concluded by saying, “You have to be the good you want to see.”
Sunday Survivor Series is a bi-weekly blog series highlighting survivors of domestic violence and their success after abuse.