i’ve always been told that i can be whatever i want to be,

if i put my mind to it.

i’ve been told, “don’t become a statistic”.

don’t become a statistic.

as if i can be whatever i want to be, and i would choose to be a statistic.

as if anybody does.

i come home for Thanksgiving to my friends,

women who go to college in different schools, in different states.

nobody chooses to be a statistic.

almost every one of these friends can share a story of assault

from just this past semester.

but we are told, “don’t become a statistic,” as if we are the ones

who have normalized this assault so much

that our assaulters can become president of the country.

my english teacher senior year wanted the girls in the class to make sure a sexual assault hotline was programmed into our phones.

we are told not to become a statistic while men sit idly by and are encouraged to ‘grab us by the pussy’.

“if the president can do it,

why can’t i?”

it takes two to tango but what if i never learned to dance?

I’ve been told i can be whatever i want to be,

if i put my mind to it.

so i’ve chosen not to be a statistic,

the trouble is, it seems that that is

not my choice

to make.