Finding My Voice
Art by Betty Dodson For most of my life, I didn’t feel comfortable speaking up for myself. I was raised to be a “good girl,” to be “seen and not heard”, to “stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.” My own thoughts, feelings, and wants were diminished,...
Teenage Orgies
As a child, I was painfully shy. I barely ever spoke in school and had only a handful of friends. I wanted so badly to break out of my shell, but I didn’t know how I could drastically change my entire personality when everyone already knew me as being quiet and...
Masturbation is Where I Find Myself
Speaking my mind has always been a really hard thing to do. Not only because I feared what everyone would think every time I spoke my truth, but also because I couldn’t hear my own truth. My whole life I saw my external world as more important, more prominent than my...
Dear Ex-Boyfriends, Dear Younger Self
Dear ex boyfriends, lovers, et al, I have some things to say that might be hard for you to hear, but I can’t hold them and not speak about them anymore. Your lack of listening hurt me. And it bothers me that you let the words “calm down,” “too emotional,” and “not...