"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you"

-Maya Angelou

It was a story that I haven't told anyone. Until now. I debated talking about this just because it was a very recent and personal event that I wasn't entirely comfortable sharing. However, when I learned about [rapist] Brock Turner's recent release from his very, very, VERY (extra emphasis on the very) short sentence to prison, I felt this as an opportune time to speak out about the whole topic.

It was just a calm Saturday night for me. At least, so I thought it was going to be normal. My friend and I had gone to the gym and come home. I walked from his car to his dorm and then continued onto my dorm alone, minding my own business. Nothing was unusual.

At least I thought everything was normal.

I had taken this route thousands of times as I always take a well lit path when I'm walking home alone, even if it isn't "dark". For the record, it was only about 8:30 p.m. when I was walking. The street lights were on, but the sky was not very dark. "Walk west on Shaw Lane, pass Owen Hall". I knew that, as I always walked that way. "Right onto Bogue Street," nothing weird about that. I crossed the river and that's when my night took a turn.

"Hey!" I hear, coming from in front of me and a little off the road. He approached me, I'm not even sure who "he" was. Some stranger who must've felt an overwhelming urge to stop me on this road. I spotted him immediately; I saw him coming before he even said anything. "Come here" he said with a sly head nod trying to lure me in.

OBVIOUSLY NO THANK YOU. But being as piqued as I could responded with, "what?" knowing I wasn't stepping a foot off the sidewalk, out of the light where cars wouldn't be able to see me. He stepped more into the light and next to the sidewalk. He was about my height, with high set cheekbones. He was slender and his dark eyes were locked on my innocent yet stern blue eyes. I was scared, I'll admit. Thinking about it now, I shouldn't have stopped. I had just come from the gym, so I had my running shoes on. I was tired, but my level of exhaustion was depleted the second my adrenaline started kicking in. He looked at me with a slightly cocked head as if he was trying to ask me a question without saying the words.

"Don't you know that what you're wearing," he slanted his head to the other side, "are you, like, asking to get raped?"

My heart sank, but I wasn't about to let him know I was scared. My blood started rushing and I knew that I wanted to run, as fast as I could. I was so close to a building that I could scream and someone would hear it. I was scared that if I screamed and showed fear he would lunge at me. I stepped off the sidewalk and into the street. "Good thing I carry a pocket knife, I'm going to finish my run now," I said and took off booking it down the street.

This could have gone a lot worse than it had. He could have followed me down the street. He could have grabbed me right there. He could have done a lot of things, but he didn't. I was one of the lucky ones. My spandex, oversized t-shirt, and running shoes were the lucky ones. I went back to my dorm and was left alone to my thoughts, unharmed.

For those of you who are not aware of who [rapist] Brock Turner is, I suggest you type "Brock Turner" into whatever your preferable search engine is and read up on it. In case you are too lazy, [rapist] Brock Turner is a former student and swimmer at Stanford University who was convicted of THREE (not one or two) felonies and was sentenced to six months for raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. However, recently [rapist] Brock Turner was released after a very, very, (once again) VERY, short three months for "good behavior". I would like to point out that among these three felonies [rapist] Brock Turner was convicted for, RAPE was not one. So, in order to be politically correct and because I'm slightly an asshole I will be putting "rapist" in brackets in order to denote that in fact, [rapist] Brock Turner was not convicted of rape. I use brackets in order to make it very clear that these brackets are supposed to separate "rapist" from the context, but are in the same group that I am placing [rapist] Brock Turner in.

Every two minutes an American is sexually assaulted. Students are the most vulnerable for sexual assault in their first year at a university. Worse yet, rape statistics are believed to be highly underreported, especially on college campuses. Victims are also 10 times as likely to use hard drugs in the aftermath of a sexual assault. I also want to point out that [rapist] Brock Turner's father chalked up this RAPE that [rapist] Brock Turner committed as "20 minutes of action". If the fact that this father is condoning his [rapist] son's actions doesn't make you mad enough, feel free to read it here. This letter details about how sad [rapist] Brock had been and how he hasn't been eating his favorite foods (so sad, am I right?).

Rape is deeper problem that needs to be addressed. It's the powerful words of this victim that is bringing a new revolution to "rape culture". It's bringing sexual assault to the forefront of all media outlets and it isn't stopping there. People are lined up out front of [rapist] Brock Turner's house. While this is coming such a huge topic and people are becoming more aware, there are still a number of unreported cases of sexual assault.

Ladies, even though this is the 21st century and "teach boys not to rape" is a stampede, you can't count on other people for your safety still. So always remember what your parents taught you. Never accept drinks from strangers. Never go home with someone you don't know. Never leave a friend at a party. Never take your eyes off your drink. Don't walk with both headphones in. Always walk in well lit paths. Always use the buddy-system. Regardless if one day women and men alike can walk the streets without fear, watching your own back can never hurt. Be aware of your surroundings. I know that it's sad that we live in a world where some people have to feel hyper-vigilant because it's not broad daylight, but being over aware is better than being a victim. Don't let yourself be the unlucky one.

Know that you can ALWAYS get help HERE.

Or call 1-800-656-HOPE(4673)

You'll never get justice if you don't speak up.