I love April for many reasons. There's the potential for spring break in elementary schools, it's my birthday month, and things start feeling like spring. However, the main reason is that April is an important time to speak out. April is the awareness month for two things that matter most to me: autism and sexual assault. My little brother and the students I work with have autism, and I am a victim of sexual assault. I spend my month finding ways to speak out. If you see me with red lips every day, or just wearing more red than usual, here's why.

1. #RedINSTEAD.

Here's the thing about April being "autism awareness." This piece of the year is often spearheaded by an absolutely awful organization called Autism Speaks. Their April theme is "light it up blue" which is why, during April, I do #redINSTEAD. Autism Speaks is an organization that demoralizes people with autism while putting on a front of doing everything for them. April isn't autism awareness, it is autism acceptance. The push for a shift from awareness to acceptance is spearheaded by the ASAN, autistic self-advocacy network , because being aware that there are people with autism is different from accepting those people. You can find more information about the push here and if you're curious about why you should not support autism speaks, you can read all about it here . I could go on and on about it myself, but I think it is best heard from someone who actually has autism, because I have no interest in speaking over people in the community.

2. #RedMyLips.

I have been participating in this campaign for three years, but it has been running for five. I don't remember how I stumbled on the campaign in the first place, but I have been happily a part of it. #RedMyLips is about breaking down the stigma that your makeup and clothes are a reason you deserve to be raped and about making a bold statement with bright lipstick every day. Through this organization, I found the courage to speak out about my life experiences, as well as the words to reassure others that it's not their fault. Victim blaming runs rampant in our society and it's disgusting. It is never your fault that you are raped. Women and men alike participate in wearing red lips, women and men can both be raped, and our society turns a blind eye to the predicament of victims. Red My Lips is about speaking up for sexual assault victims, domestic assault victims, sex trafficking victims, and all who fall under the spectrum of "sexual violence." Participants in the campaign upload photos on social media, wear shirts and sweatshirts with the slogans and hashtags, and (of course) sport red lipstick every day.

April is such an important time for me because it allows me to find simple ways to speak out. When people ask me about my lipstick, I can then talk to them about victim blaming. People who compliment my red nails hear about both #redINSTEAD and #RedMyLips. Some people even ask me why I am not sporting blue or participating in autism speaks events and I can educate them about autism and acceptance. My friends and I run a pretty large group chat and we all have the red lips emoji and another red emoji next to our name to support both movements (our users do the same). By altering your style or online presence, you provoke questions that lead to an excellent opportunity to speak out. I wear red during all of April, and you can too.