The Bad Boy & The Fangirl (Editing)

~ a message from the author ~

Hello. I honestly don't know where to start this, it's been so long since I've even been on Wattpad but, I've been thinking. 

I started this story when I was 14 (I'm 16 now) and since then I've learned so much about the world, from inequality to mental health to so many other things. 

With this knowledge that I have now, it became blattently obvious that many stories on Wattpad tend to glamorise horrific things such as kidnapping, gang violence, etc. You've all seen stories like that. Maybe some of you have read stories like that. I realised that the whole "bad boy" genre romanticises mistreatment towards the main female character in the book, and essentially glamorises misogyny, sexual harassment (how many bad boy stories start off with the bad boy getting the main character to partake in some non consensual sexual act no matter how minor? Too many.), violence (again, no matter how minor) etc. This whole "bad boy" genre on Wattpad makes it seem as if these behaviours are intriguing, funny and amusing in a way that inspires romance. Which, let's be real, is incredibly twisted. 

It made me think about my story, about the message I was sending to people. My first thought was of course to develop Axels character in a way that excuses his behaviour, but the thing is, we need to stop excusing peoples behaviour; especially when it perpetuates negative ideas which are damaging. 

My heart isn't really in this story anymore, but I'm so thankful for those of you that have read this far. It makes me happy to know that I've made you laugh and feel like you've found Jasmine to be a relatable character, she's me from when I was 14. Your comments about how you related to her made me feel less alone so I thank you for that. 

Does this mean that this story has come to an end? Maybe. I'm not sure. I'm working on an idea for a book I want to write at the moment and I think updating a chapter of this every now and again will be a good way to get back into writing.  

I want you to know, that when a boy, or anyone, is unjustly disrespectful to anyone in any way, they are not someone you deserve to have a relationship with. Surround yourself with people who remind you of sunshine and glitter because those people exist. I used to think they didn't, but they do. 

Lastly, be kind to yourself. Most of you are familiar with the phrase "treat others how you wish to be treated" but I think some of us treat others the way we wish to be treated, but don't treat ourselves the same way. I feel that so many of us project kindness into the world, and we forget to save kindness for ourselves. I know that I'm intentionally mean to myself sometimes, and I'm trying to teach myself to be nice to myself. 

Part of Jasmine's problem is that she locks herself away and isn't willing to open herself up to people, or experiences. You can't live a happy life that way, trust me, I know. Try to give things a go. If someone you're acquaintance's with makes an offer about hanging out, then take them up on it. You never know what could happen, why limit yourself? 

This concludes my update about where I'm at and my little ramble. I'd love to hear back from you guys in the comments, if any of you actually read all of that. 

Thank you 💖