Steven,

The fact of the matter is, nobody owes you anything. You are not the legitimate creditor of anything in this universe. So you need to stop seeing things as being taken away from you. You had nothing.

Where you go from there, however, is completely up to you. And that's where you need to realize you're not fighting for the right to a perfect life - you're fighting for the privilege to be yourself. It is that sense of self-legitimacy, self-recognition, you realize, that you ultimately crave.

So ask yourself: "Did I earn this privilege to own myself?"