Don’t get me wrong, I am more than thrilled that the Silence Breakers were named TIME’s 2017 Person of the Year. When I woke up Wednesday morning and saw the video, I watched it three times all the way through because I was just so happy that these women were given a platform to speak out about what they went through.

I am so happy that people are finally being forced to listen.

Hearing them talk about how they were doubted and made to feel like the person who was in the wrong absolutely broke my heart. How can we live in a world where sexual violence is so carelessly written off?

Megyn Kelly’s quote struck me the hardest, “I thought maybe things could change for my daughter. I never thought things could change for me.”

It made me so sad to hear her say that. The way sexual assault victims have been treated in the past led her to believe that there was no way anything would change for her generation.

2017 has been filled with sexual assault victims coming forward and speaking out against what happened to them. Not only have celebrities come forward about sexual assault in Hollywood but the #MeToo movement allowed anyone with a social media handle to come forward and share their story. I was saddened to see so many of my friends sharing the hashtag.

Finally, the world is shining a light on the epidemic of sexual assault… if only we could have done this sooner. Maybe if sexual assault and harassment victims were believed years ago when they came forward then maybe we could have stopped some of the recent incidents from happening at all.

1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

99% of perpetrators of sexual violence will walk free.

Women ages 16-19 are four times more likely to be the victims of sexual violence.

1 in 6 women have survived an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.

Those statistics are alarming and there are more where that came from. I haven’t even touched on the disturbing facts about sexual violence on college campuses (I highly recommend the documentary “The Hunting Ground” if you would like to learn more about the way sexual assault runs rampant on college campuses across the country).

As a woman, as a college student, as a friend of many people who posted #MeToo, I vow to do whatever I can to change those statistics I listed above. I’d be lying to you if I said I’m not worried about my safety, or about my sister’s safety, or about the safety of my friends and family.

I am beyond thrilled that the Silence Breakers were named TIME’s 2017 Person of the Year. I’m glad that we are finally shining a harsh light on the epidemic of sexual violence. I truly believe we are working towards changing those statistics. It won’t be smooth sailing but if we stand together we can make a change.

I wish the Silence Breakers were the Person of the Year years ago.

I wish I didn’t see so many #MeToo’s on my timeline that day. I wish the survivors of sexual violence were believed instead of being written off or treated like it was their fault.

It is years too late to save the Silence Breakers and to save some of my friends. We waited too long. Now we owe it to the survivors and to everyone out there who hasn’t been the victim of sexual violence to make a change. Now.