I was the care-free kid who rode around the neighborhood, sang loudly and laughed. My tricycle was the serenity to my simple childhood. I remember riding my bike around Richmond Hill and stumbling upon a man with a tape recorder and a shady black car. My six year old self didn't think anything of it, until I heard my own voice replaying in multiple settings. At the smallest speed, I rushed home because I knew that this man could have been potentially trying to confirm a new victim. The disadvantages of being a women started here.

At the age of 15 I knew enough to always be cautious. You become a target once you don't pay attention. The one time I was too busy looking at my text messages was the first time I've ever noticed how bright the flash of a camera can be. I look up and see a blonde haired man, with one hand on the wheel and his other hand outside of the window, with a small camera. Although he is driving and potentially costing his life to take a picture of me, I was astounded by how little I felt. I didn't know whether to run home, run towards a one way street, or keep going. I thought "if I run home he will know where I live, and oh man if he is willing to take a picture of me while driving at 10 mph, then maybe he has a fat wallet to risk a one way street. Let me just keep going."

At this point I am running towards my destination and I see that he turns and drives off another direction. My heart starts to beat out of my chest, a ringing in my ear starts to buzz, and my mind racing. What was my face or body going to be used for? I couldn't help but to think about a perverse group sitting around my pictures and using them for erotic pleasures. If I think deeply into where those pictures are now, they could be cut up into one of those XX rated websites. My face photoshopped onto a woman's body, or my body potentially photoshopped with a woman's face I've never met before. Maybe she is victim of this perverse group that collects pictures of young girls too. I became less of a woman that day.

Even if you take the slightest moment to bring your attention towards something other than your surroundings, the risk of you being followed or harassed goes up 50 percent. To prove this fact, I was walking to my friend's house when it started to drizzle and my glasses started to fog. I reached down to the bottom seams of my shirt to clean the excess drops on my lenses, when I heard someone say "hey!" I turned around and moved a little closer to get a better look at this multi-colored glob. He looked a lot like a family friend, so I responded and said, "Oh hey, Danny? Is that you?" We were now at arm's distance and he yells "Get in my car now!"

In a matter of seconds, I quickly put on my glasses to find that he was not Danny. I then ran towards a mailman, who I trusted, instantly. He said, "are you okay?"

I tell him "this man was trying to take me. Quick, that car right there!"

At a distance we saw the man looking out the window and the black car driving down a school street at 90 mph. If my reflexes weren't as fast as they were, I would have been in the back of that car staring at the mailman and crying for help.

Maybe if I was a man, things would be different. I could probably walk around alone, with my head held high, knowing no one will look my way.

From my experience, I now walk with my fists hiding on my sides, my bag filled with makeup weapons and practiced thoughts of survival. Those feelings that I carry inside now show that the politics of being a woman involve the fear of looking vulnerable. On my own I want to feel strong, but as you can see, the possibilities of being taken away are high.

Everywhere I go I have to keep my eyes peeled at all the people that walk by, because you never know if you can serve as a witness to a kidnapping or be a victim of one. I know I am not the only woman who feels this way.

My advice to the women who work late-nights, and who walk home alone, please make it an effort to have someone meet you or talk to you on the phone. Don't let my stories scare you, let them be a guide to stay aware.

If you have nieces, nephews or kids that are a part of your everyday life, make it a statement to them to not speak to strangers and to always stay close to home. If you're exploring a new neighborhood, don't do it alone. If you're out late, walk in groups and don't flash around anything that can grab a predators attention. Stay safe and true to you.