How I Learned What a Real Friend Is
Names have been changed. I didn’t have too many friends in elementary school because I was shy. It was usually my books and me since I read so much. In the novels I read, friendships were close and supportive. I assumed that’s the kind I would have. Books like the Monster High series, the Heroes […]
Read More
Discovering Myself Beyond the Binary
Names have been changed. I was born male. But starting from age 5, I felt perplexed by the gender binary (the belief that everyone is one of two traditional gender identities). I stared up at bathroom signs in confusion. The monotonous blue walls and the faint smell of urine in the boys’ room felt oddly […]
Read More
When I Lose My Virginity Is Up to Me
When I started high school and became close with the popular girls, they pressured me to lose my virginity, since I had already been dating my boyfriend for a year. But at 14, I felt I was too young to have sex. My boyfriend understood that and wanted me to have sex only when I […]
Read More
I’m My Own Woman, Not His
Names have been changed. I was 17 and a virgin. Part of me wanted to lose my virginity to someone I loved, but another part of me just wanted to get rid of it. The idea of “losing it to Prince Charming” was starting to feel like a burden. I was insecure. Growing up, my […]
Read More