I remember telling a friend when I got home from a night out that I had been catcalled and how frustrating it was.

"I wish guys catcalled me!" She sighed

No. No, you don't. There is nothing flattering about it. Being catcalled is an incredibly dehumanizing experience.

Catcalling is a slang term for street harassment which is when a stranger gives someone unwanted attention in the form of sexual or derogatory comments.

I experience street harassment all the time. I had an internship in downtown Dayton, OH last summer and on a single day, during my hour-long lunch break I was catcalled ten times.

Some were just comments shouted from a car as they drove by, those are easier to ignore.

But some people would drive up next to me, ask me to get in their car and keep following me even when I said no. I would often duck behind random buildings to try lose them. The last thing I would want is for them to find out where I work.

During the school year, I am afraid to walk alone at night. When I am leaving a party, I try to walk home with a male friend. People tend to leave me alone if I'm with a guy. They assume I'm his girlfriend, and they will respect the fact that I am another man's "property" more than they will respect my dignity as a person.

I hate that this is true, but learning this fact has helped.

I remember one night after a friend walked me back to my dorm and I thanked him. I felt safe. I was in my dorm. I got about a foot away from my door when a group of guys came around the corner and started harassing me. I was fumbling with my key, I wanted to get inside as quick as possible.

Just this week, I was at a restaurant with my friend, a man who appeared to be about sixty years old asked us if we would go on a date with him and started laughing.

He was sixty. I'm twenty, my friend is nineteen. Let that sink in.

I really just want to know what goes through these people's heads. What is their intended outcome? Do they really think shouting "nice ass" (or other things I don't feel comfortable publishing) at me is going to suddenly woo me and make me hop into bed with them?

I don't know what they think they have to gain. I do know how I feel. I feel violated, objectified, uncomfortable and scared.

So please, I beg you, if you ever feel the urge to catcall someone. Don't.

Just don't do it. It's not that hard. Keep your mouth shut. Keep walking