Imagine being kidnapped, raped, and isolated for 18 years. I couldn't imagine not seeing my family everyday, or not being able to say my own name for 18 years. I couldn't imagine having 2 children by the man who kidnapped me.

Jaycee Dugard was rescued 2 years ago by campus cops. After being missed by parole officers more than 60 times, 2 campus officers take action. Jaycee was using the name Alyssa because she couldn't use her own name.

I don't know how she kept hope, but she did. I think she is super strong, and I have a deep respect for her courage and strength.

I wish I could understand how parole officers missed 3 girls living in the back yard. At one point a neighbor called 911 and reported the 3 girls living in the tents. Still a failure in the justice system.

Phillip Garrido was already a high risk sex offender. He had been in trouble for raping a 14 year old girl, but the case fell through when she refused to testify. Another was when Garrido kidnapped a woman, took her to a storage unit and raped her for 8 hours. He was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. After only serving 15 years, he was released from prison for "good behavior". After kidnapping Jaycee, parole officers paid him 60 visits in 18 years, but never bothered to check the backyard where Jaycee, Angel, and Starlit were being hidden in tents.

The Garrido's were exposed when 2 campus officials used their common sense and notice the girls were scared. They talked to Phillip and realized how crazy he actually was. Concerned for the girls, the officials did a background check, and discovered he was a registered sex offender. They called back up and called the Garrido's in for questioning.

They separated the "family", and Jaycee finally cracked. After writing her name down for the first time in 18 years, Jaycee got to talk to her mother. The memory of her mother is one of the things that kept her sane in the craziness that surrounded her.

Jaycee and her mother were reunited, and they were in tears. After years of being apart, they began to reconnect.

What stumps me the most is how the justice system failed to discover the girls living in the backyard of a registered sex offender. We may never know, but I still wonder if it will happen again. I wonder what the justice system will make the same mistakes or have they learned from the mistakes made in the Jaycee Dugard case?

To wrap up my story, I'm going to ask you one more question, How would you have survived if you were put in a situation like Jaycee Dugards?