No

No.

A basic word that we were taught at the earliest of ages.

A word with a very simple and effective meaning.

A word that should be a no-brainer to understand.

But why didn't you listen?

Why didn't you understand?

Why did you do it?

Why did you prey on me like some helpless cat in a tree?

You are the reason why I am like this.

You are the reason why I moved schools.

You are the reason why I have trust issues.

You took my heart and twisted it into a balloon animal,

laughing while I cried to my friends.

They all said it was my fault,

that I was the one who instigated it.

But no.

No, I didn't.

No.

I never wanted it.

I never wanted you.

I was in the 8th grade.

8th grade was when I lost everything.

My friends,

my boyfriend,

my happiness,

my world.

And only God knows how many other people this happened to.

What you did to them.

Every 98 seconds, and American is sexually assaulted.

And every 8 minutes, that victim is a child.

Out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, only 310 are reported to the police.

Yet, only 6 out of 1,000 offenders end up in prison.

55% were at home.

15% were in public.

12% were near a relative's home.

10% were in an enclosed but public area.

And 8% were on school property.

It's been 4 years.

4 years since I was abused.

4 years since I was sexually abused in class by that boy.

I never reported it.

I never told my parents.

That same boy still goes to that same school.

And I see that same boy as I scroll through my Instagram feed everyday.

And everyday I am reminded of what happened that day.

There's nothing that I can do.

But you can.

You can be involved.

You can make a difference.

Whether you have 5 seconds,

5 minutes

5 days

5 months

or 5 years,

you can help prevent this.

You can help a survivor.

Every moment counts.

And here I stand

saying for the very first time,

I survived.

And that feels so good to finally admit.