I will not be silent. I will not be silent because silence is not getting us anywhere.

Last night on my way back from Sonic with my best friend, a couple of guys in a truck pulled up next to us and started waving and hollering at us. No big deal, right? This stuff happens all the time. To avoid any awkwardness at the upcoming red light, I switched lanes and got behind them. But to my dismay, they rolled their windows down and told us to “get our a**es up there." Because we owe them that, right? They waved at us so we should be respectful and engage in conversation, right? Because we are women and that is our duty. However, they did not respect us by allowing our lane change as a subtle rejection.

They also did not take the hint when I made several turns in an effort to lose them, but they relentlessly followed us back to the parking lot of our dorm. Only after running to security and reporting them did they leave.

So, I will not be silent. I will not be silent because to so many, this story is a success. It has a happy ending. No one was hurt and we were not put in immediate danger. But this is not always the case.

For the girl who would have rolled her window down and talked to them out of curiosity or even fear, she may not have been as lucky. These boys were probably harmless, but it is hard to tell when they did not accept “no” as an answer. Even though I did not roll down my window and shout, “NO” at them, it was pretty obvious that we did not want anything to do with them. But then again, being unconscious is a pretty obvious sign that a woman cannot consent, however, she still might be sexually assaulted.

I will not be silent because although small, and to some petty, my story from last night is rare. We did everything we were supposed to. We did not look at them. We did not drive straight back to school. We drove around and attempted to make enough turns so we would lose them. But in the end, we still had to report them to the campus security because they were not going to stop.

I will not be silent because men do not have to worry about this. Men do not make trips to Sonic and drive around in fear because girls are following them.

I will not be silent because you do not see men walking around with pepper spray on their keychains.

I will not be silent because when men use the crosswalk, they are not harassed by the women in the cars waiting for them to get out of the street.

I will not be silent because there are still people in this country that think misogynistic comments are okay.

I will not be silent because there are individuals who are justifying comments made by Donald Trump because at some point in time someone else has done worse. Just in case you were confused, that is not how it works. You do not refuse to discipline your child because a couple days ago your other child did something more serious. The same principle applies.

I will not be silent because men do not think twice about walking with their arms full or running to the grocery store after dark, or parking under a light pole to make sure no one sneaks up on them in the shadows.

I will not be silent because if you are a man reading this, this is probably the first time you have ever realized a woman’s routine for safety because, for you, it is not a concern.

I will not be silent because I know too many victims of sexual assault. Last night I was lucky, and I was reminded of just how real the danger of being a woman out after dark is.

When you took elementary field trips, your teacher always told you to use the buddy system. Women never grow out of the buddy system.