𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝔾𝕚𝕣𝕝𝕤 ℂ𝕝𝕦𝕓 ☁︎☀

Coping up

Hello everyone, my name is Black Beauty. I'm a fifteen-year-old girl who very much likes to read and write. Now, I would love to give you more details about me, but this is not about my interests, this is about a much greater problem and one of the bad experiences of my life.

Sexual harassment is a crime. Yes, you heard it right, it's a crime.

Today, I would like to share my story with you, one of the many little insignificant bits of my life, my very experience of sexual harassment.

I was eleven at the time and our family had gone to the waterpark. I went up to a high slide since I liked taking risks. There was the safety guy up there. And let's say, he pretty much had tried to roam his hands all above my thighs, which was very unwelcome but with my lanky little self, I couldn't overpower the man, no matter how much I tried. We were too high to be heard or for someone to come up.

So, yes, that's pretty much it.

After my sad experience, as you all would say it, I must have had a hard time coping with it, right? I must have spent my days crying, feeling like hell for something that was not even my fault. I must have, right?

The answer to the question is a big fat no. I didn't waste my time on any of that. Guilt was not one of the things I wanted to be familiar with, and I and sadness weren't just best friends (We still aren't.)

Though no one in my real life knows about this, I don't mind sharing it here on Wattpad if it helps someone else.

I know you will now go ranting on how much of a bad person I am, that I'm giving you the advice to voice out your problems to the world, while not following the advice myself.

Before you do that, I ask you to hear me out to the very end of this chapter because what I say is pretty important (Trust me, I would never waste my time writing anything unimportant, especially with my strong dislike towards typing.)

I didn't tell it to anyone because, at my time, there was no such thing as Child Protection Rights in India. I didn't have a helpline to help my cause and I simply did not feel like discussing it with my parents because, since my childhood, I had been barely given the freedom to go out. Even at the present time, I only go out when I'm going to school. I'm, to say, pretty much locked in the four walls of my house. I would rather prefer my limited freedom than none at all.

And now you will be like, "Okay, that makes sense but how are you so calm about all this? I mean, don't you feel even the tiniest bit bad about it? How?"

Before you ask me how I knew you were going to ask that, I'll let you know that I simply do know a lot about human nature.

Now, we shall not divert from the subject.

The thing is, it could've affected me in the worst ways possible, but it didn't. Why? Because I didn't give it enough power to.

I didn't let it harm me. I moved on, without mulling over it. I didn't want revenge, because deep down there, I knew the truth. I didn't remember the guy's face, I just remembered how his hands had felt on mine. Cold and dirty. I knew it was a lost cause, hence I let it go.

And even after all these years, I did not share it with anyone for many reasons but one of the most solid reasons was my mind. It told me not to, not for the fear of getting shame on myself but for a reason none of you would've even thought of existing in a case similar to mine.

My reason was fairly simple. I didn't want it to shape me. I didn't want people to remember me with, "Hey, look at her. Isn't that the girl who got harassed?" I never wanted that. I wanted people to look at me and say, "Hey, look at that girl. She's so bold and confident. No wonder why everyone loves her." (And now, people do say the latter one.)

My experience was one of the bad moments of my life and to me, it meant nothing but a zero-sum (like all the bad experiences of my life). But I wrote it nonetheless, because, even though it means nothing to me, I thought that my words, could make a difference. Not for me, for you.

To be honest, the only things that ever made a difference in my life were good experiences. I still remember this incident ever so perfectly:

There was a teacher of mine who used to teach us English. Her name was Jaimimi. She was expecting a baby so she left the job once she reached her fifth month. I missed her terribly. I thought she would never come back again, but once her baby was a month old, she came to school with the little one. It was a girl. When they asked her name, I was surprised, taken aback.

She had named the girl on my name. She just switched the initial letter of my name with 'K'. My name was quite rare too. So, when the other teachers asked her why she had named the girl before my name, she had said, "Because I want my daughter to be like her. I want her to be just like her, ever so perfect and kind."

That had made an impact on my life. These were the very moments I had lived for, the moments I dreamt as a kid, and these were the moments that shaped me.

I wouldn't want you to send me pitiful posts or sympathetic comments because this isn't about me, this is about you. I want to know how my post made a change in your life. Trust me, a comment like that will make my day.

I'd rather prefer your ignorance than having your pity. Please do not send me any such messages though, if you want to discuss the latest marvel news or some wisdom about good books out there, I would love to chat with you. I did not waste my time typing a thousand words to get messages saying, "It will be alright."

It is alright. Nothing is wrong with me, it never was. I had always been stronger than my devils. Don't do that, I wouldn't appreciate it.

The ultimate moral of the whole thing: Don't blame yourself, don't change yourself for something that was never your fault in the first place. People will talk, you can't stop them from talking but you can stop yourself from mulling over it.

The bad moments of your life do not make a difference. The good ones do.

That's all I have to say for now. I will return soon with another article. Till then, have days full of magic and wonder!

Love,

Black

🌼✨🌼✨🌼✨🌼✨🌼✨

This post was written entirely by cool_reader_

Thank you so much for supporting our club.

Next month is sexual assault awareness month, let's keep spreading awareness and making a difference in this world.