My first weekend of college, my friends and I ended up at a party in an apartment. I made a dumb move and took a drink from a guy i'd just met - a few minutes later I was sitting on the stairs starting to fall asleep. A nice Jewish boy (wearing a yarmelke) saw that something was wrong with me, gave his number to my roommate and walked me home. he said that he recognized what was happening to me as a sign of a possible date drugging, and he didn't want me to be a victim because it had happened to his sister.

When I was younger I had abusive parents, like really abusive parents, one night in the middle of a snowstorm they threw me outside in the snow with no shoes or socks and in a tshirt. It was freezing cold. I was wandering around the neighborhood behind the houses because I was too embarassed.

Suddenly, a neighbor of mine, (17ish) was sitting on his window smoking and looking at the snow. He saw me, asked what the hell I was doing, I just gave him this look and he leaned out his window, grabbed me by the arms and hauled me up into his window. He gave me some blankets and let me sit there in the warmth for awhile and we just small talked and he put on a movie. A little while later my mother came by, saw him and asked if he had seen me. He instantly, without hesitating told her no, and watched until she left before helping me back home.

At the time, it was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for me, the only person who had ever protected me from my abusive parents. Since then I've always been doing my best to help my friends and acquaintances from their abusive families or relationships.

TL;DR It can feel so alone being in an abusive situation, and the feeling of having someone protect you never goes away. Pay that s**t forward.