Story Time: How A Moment Can Change Your Life ~ #MeToo

Hello beautiful creatures and happy Saturday everyone!

I hope you’re all staying safe, healthy and happy, and you’re ready to embrace the endless possibilities this weekend has to offer.

For me, this is going to be the first responsibilities and work-free weekend, and I really wanna enjoy it to the fullest, reading good books, going out for walks or staying in, drinking coffee and watching the final episodes of The Bold Type, before the fifth and final season premiere.

Speaking of good books, I got some book mail from Beacon Book Box and a Greek publishing house yesterday. Although I was glad for all the books and bookish goodies I got, one book in particular hooked me more than the others. I’m talking of course about the Greek edition of Rules for Being a Girl, by Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotungo.

“It starts before you can even remember: You learn the rules for being a girl. . . .

Marin has always been good at navigating these unspoken guidelines. A star student and editor of the school paper, she dreams of getting into Brown University. Marin’s future seems bright―and her young, charismatic English teacher, Mr. Beckett, is always quick to admire her writing and talk books with her.

But when “Bex” takes things too far and comes on to Marin, she’s shocked and horrified. Had she somehow led him on? Was it her fault?

When Marin works up the courage to tell the administration what happened, no one believes her. She’s forced to face Bex in class every day. Except now, he has an ax to grind.

But Marin isn’t about to back down. She uses the school newspaper to fight back and she starts a feminist book club at school. She finds allies in the most unexpected people, like “slutty” Gray Kendall, who she’d always dismissed as just another lacrosse bro. As things heat up at school and in her personal life, Marin must figure out how to take back the power and write her own rules.”

I’ve only read a few chapters and this book already sends goosebumps down my spine. To me, this is just a very “light” version of what I’m gonna experience once I pluck up the courage to read My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell.

And I say “pluck up the courage” because… well, it still scares the sh*t out of me to think of situations of sexual assault and harassment. I’ve lived through it. And yet, it’s still as scary as hell.

When I was 19, I was taking care of a friend of mine who had a terrible car accident. I was heading to her home one day, when I realised that two men were following me. Seriously, you guys. It’s creepy as f*ck! All of a sudden, the only thing you can think of is if there’s someone around to help you and if there isn’t, which is the best way to defend yourself.

I tried stepping up the pace, but so did they. And somehow, I don’t know exactly how, I knew it. If I didn’t move smart and fast quickly, things would turn out pretty badly.

Luckily for me, the moment I turned down a narrow alley, I saw a mini market. I remember rushing towards the small building like a thirsty person in the desert, the moment they find an oasis. Unfortunately though, my stalkers entered the mini market, too.

So, it was now or never. I moved casually in the shop, as casually as my terror allowed me to, and when I got to the cash register I mouthed “help me” to the owner of the shop. The middle-aged man, whose face has been tattooed in my mind for the past eight years, stared at me, then back at the two men who’ve been following me for the past couple of minutes.

That was it. Without second guessing, the shop’s owner started talking to me, as if he knew me forever. He asked me how school was going, how my family was and what plans I had for that weekend. Fun fact (yet not really) it was a Eurovision weekend that day, too.

I heard the two men walking out of the mini market, having bought nothing at all. I still didn’t feel safe enough to speak out loud, so I mouthed a “thank you”. The owner smiled at me. Next thing I knew, he was walking me towards my friend’s house, which was literally 20 meters away from his shop.

I know that this may seem like nothing to some of you, but to me, someone who’d been bullied at kindergarten, someone who had to face a horrible situation in middle school and someone who, if she hadn’t spoken that day, I don’t know where she’d be today, this isn’t nothing.

Don’t downplay the significance of the events someone has faced. Show empathy. Be there to listen to them. This way, more and more victims will speak up. More and more victims will raise their voices. More and more victims will feel less alone.

I know I don’t talk as frequently as I want to about stuff like that here, but I believe the time has come for this to change.

I’m here for you. I see you and I hear you. I want you to know that you’re always, always safe here, and if you want to talk to someone, I’m always here for you.

Thank you all so very much for stopping by once again. It honestly means the world to me and I want you to know that I most certainly don’t take your presence here for granted. I never will.

Have a wonderful weekend, awesome nerds.

Till next time… Toodles!