--- title: "1 Help Survive Quotes By Mia McKenzie" description: "1 Help Survive quotes by Mia McKenzie. Plus more from Mia McKenzie and more Help Survive sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/mia-mckenzie-63433_long-time_a-long-time-ago-when-you-were-a-wee-thin_2211889.jpg" --- > [“A long time ago, when you were a wee thing, you learned something, some way to cope, something that, if you did it, would help you survive. It wasn't the healthiest thing, it wasn't gonna get you free, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-mckenzie/a-long-time-ago-when-you-were-a-wee-thing-you-learned-something-some/) [Mia McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-mckenzie/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/mia-mckenzie-63433_long-time_a-long-time-ago-when-you-were-a-wee-thin_2211889.jpg) ## More by Mia McKenzie > [“He turned away from the wall and lay on his back instead. He was tired and he wanted to sleep. Every time he tried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-mckenzie/he-turned-away-from-the-wall-and-lay-on-his-back-instead-he-was-tired/) [Mia McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-mckenzie/) > [“The intentional act of loving other brown queers is about healing, in a world that says we are not worthy, that things like pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-mckenzie/the-intentional-act-of-loving-other-brown-queers-is-about-healing-in/) [Mia McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-mckenzie/) > [“Don't tell me what I am," she said. "I get to say what I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-mckenzie/don-t-tell-me-what-i-am-she-said-i-get-to-say-what-i-am/) [Mia McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-mckenzie/) > [“Letting down your guard can be really difficult, especially when you are black or brown and have been taught that letting down your guard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-mckenzie/letting-down-your-guard-can-be-really-difficult-especially-when-you/) [Mia McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-mckenzie/) > [“A long time ago, when you were a wee thing, you learned something, some way to cope, something that, if you did it, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-mckenzie/a-long-time-ago-when-you-were-a-wee-thing-you-learned-something-some/) [Mia McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-mckenzie/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-survive/mia-mckenzie/#itemlist", "name": "1 Help Survive Quotes By Mia McKenzie", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A long time ago, when you were a wee thing, you learned something, some way to cope, something that, if you did it, would help you survive. It wasn't the healthiest thing, it wasn't gonna get you free, but it was gonna keep you alive. You learned it, at five or six, and it worked, it *did* help you survive. You carried it with you all your life, used it whenever you needed it. It got you out--out of your assbackwards town, away from an abuser, out of range of your mother's un-love. Or whatever. It worked for you. You're still here now partly because of this thing that you learned. The thing is, though, at some point you stopped needing it. At some point, you got far enough away, surrounded yourself with people who love you. You survived. And because you survived, you now had a shot at more than just staying alive. You had a shot now at getting free. But that thing that you learned when you were five was not then and is not now designed to help you be free. It is designed only to help you survive. And, in fact, it keeps you from being free. You need to figure out what this thing is and work your ass off to un-learn it. Because the things we learn to do to survive at all costs are not the things that will help us get FREE. Getting free is a whole different journey altogether.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mia McKenzie" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-mckenzie/a-long-time-ago-when-you-were-a-wee-thing-you-learned-something-some/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/mia-mckenzie-63433_long-time_a-long-time-ago-when-you-were-a-wee-thin_2211889.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/mia-mckenzie-63433_long-time_a-long-time-ago-when-you-were-a-wee-thin_2211889.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/mia-mckenzie-63433_long-time_a-long-time-ago-when-you-were-a-wee-thin_2211889.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A long time ago, when you were a wee thing, you learned something, some way to cope, something that, if you…” — Mia McKenzie", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-survive/mia-mckenzie/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-survive/mia-mckenzie/", "name": "Help Survive Quotes by Mia McKenzie", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-survive/mia-mckenzie/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/mia-mckenzie-63433_long-time_a-long-time-ago-when-you-were-a-wee-thin_2211889.jpg" }, "description": "1 Help Survive quotes by Mia McKenzie. 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