Dear Diary,

Last week I found myself at a crossroads, I felt like was stuck in a proverbial rock and hard place. One of my male acquaintances was consistently messaging me asking to hang out, but I really had no desire to do so. So every time he would text me I’d make excuses, until one day I had an epiphany; I didn’t owe this boy anything. So finally I was brutally honest with him in the nicest way possible, he took it well and has stopped messaging me. It was only then that I realized that my reluctance to tell him no was because I was afraid of his response. Too often women are bad mouthed for sticking to their guns and declining a man’s invitation. We are labeled as stuck up, and given attitude; this behavior has to stop. We are getting too old for these childish habits, lets nip them in the bud right now… this is a list; in no particular order of some things women are not obligated to do for you.

Things women are not obligated to do:

1. Dance with you
   1. No we don’t want to dance, so stop asking. Stop hovering in my vicinity, and stop shooting me smoldering glares.
2. Respond to your “excuse me miss”
   1. We will keep it pushing and ignore you don’t be offended; it’s not anything personal (probably) but we’ve already seen you in our peripheral vision and decided not to glance in your direction. It’s not fair, but that’s how the cookie crumbles.
3. Text you back
   1. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory…
4. Care what you think about how we look
   1. Unless we ask for your opinion we really don’t want it. I don’t care if you like my hair curly or straight, my eye liner winged or tight-lined, or my lipstick neutral or bright.
5. Apologize for not being into you/having a boyfriend
   1. All too often women use this excuse to get out of a tricky situation, but in reality we don’t need to apologize. I’m not sorry I’m not interested, I’m sorry you thought I was in the first place.

The list could go on and on, but I think you get the general idea. Let’s start acting like adults and being more respectful of each other’s choices.