Wow, great post and thanks for opening up. It can be a frightening thing to do and it certainly takes some strength (and feels great in the end as you say in the post).

Also, it is astonishing how much observing our parents shapes the person that we become. Children are like sponges that are constantly taking in information from our parents whether it be what they say or how they act. I'm happy to hear that you understand that and have had some better male influences later in life.