Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve

by Drew Afualo

but especially women and femmes, are tired. I was tired. I was also mad seeing how life has forced women and femmes to center men even if it felt wrong and put us in uncomfortable or harmful positions.

My content found its audience in people who were over having to grin and bear men’s bullshit,

You have every right to feel the way that you do and express it in whatever way suits you best.

But first, the world shut down.

that I’d literally rather die happy and alone than die unhappily partnered (more on this later). And the older I’ve gotten, the more my bullshit

It’s not our fault if we are born ignorant, but it is our fault if we die that way.

the beautiful thing about being alive is that there is something valuable to be learned at every phase of it.

that’s what being a “cool girl” gets you, then you know what? Fuck being cool and fuck being chill. If the reward for being the “coolest” girl in the room is a sliver of attention from the world’s most mediocre men, then I would happily commit to never being chill. And never being cool.

The devil works hard, but the patriarchy works harder.

myself: I am not lonely, I am alone. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Remember: nothing scares a man more than a woman who knows she does not need him.

So if you sit in the very front, you don’t think oppression exists, because you can’t see it. It’s up to the people at the front of the classroom to acknowledge their point of privilege and make a concerted effort to turn around and look back.

“When your needs are consistently not being met, you end up turning into the person you most fear you may actually be.”

I’ll always be here to remind you: Being mean is not always required, but sometimes it’s necessary. And there’s nothing wrong with that!

The outdated idea of a heterosexual nuclear family as the only way to raise children is yet another by-product of colonization, white supremacy, and misogyny.

lead to the latter. Going

Running from your problems never works, but I tried my fucking hardest to. Turns out, I’m not that fast.

There is no right way to be a woman, only your way.

The key to manifestation is being able to identify that desire, name it out loud, and then really allow yourself to imagine it happening with no restrictions.

but because you believe you deserve them.

This is your life. Don’t waste one second of it living for anyone but yourself.

I would find and love you in any lifetime, but I’m grateful I get to love you in this one.