What happened that night?

I want to talk about drinking since it makes up a large portion of women's lives from ages 17-26 (I'd say). I feel every party I go to or college "get together" your bound to get seriously drunk. And I have been to all different types of campus set ups and they all are the same. But the way I see it drinking itself isn't the problem; it is who exactly are you drinking with. An article published in The Journal of Sex Education and Therapy reported that 68% of women who were raped, sexually assaulted, and illicitly restrained at a party were done so by drunk male assailants. I understand from personal experience that when you are at a party you are not paying specific attention to who is close to you or who is making your drinks. But you have to. And for the girls who go to parties without any friends with you, its not a smart move. You have no one there you can trust from past knowledge that they wouldn't hurt you. But also I have to admit, I have seen girls willingly go of with guys who they had never met before and the girls were beyond drunk. I even asked a girl once did she really wanna go with the guy back to his apartment and she was so inebriated she could barely make out a sentence. And I tried to find her friends but there was nobody at the entire party who knew the girl. So yes I get it. I understand wanting to get that "buzzed" feeling, and the thrill of making out with a complete stranger, or handing out your phone number. But ladies lets do it with some caution and class. Otherwise you might be waking up and asking yourself "What happened last night?" And you may not want to know the answer.

That Boy

It's been a while; life has so many distractions: school, boys, work etc. I never really thought my life was complicated but looking back on this past semester I have to admit it is. I feel boys have it much easier because they are capable of going with the flow and girls aren't. We don't know how to just enjoy where life takes us, we try to plan out our every move. And we are so easily affected. For example, one break up can destroy our grades, our jobs, essentially our lives. And the negative effect of it is we then become obsessed with "winning" the break up. But honestly, that boy shouldn't have such a strong hold over us. We should be happy with who we are; someone told me lately that before you can love someone else you need to first love yourself and you need to be happy by yourself in order to be happy with others. So for all of those girls out there who have had that boy out there who basically ruined your grades, friendships, job, you can't let them. The same for those guys who have had that girl who basically devastated your life (although I feel this is a rare actuality) You have to be happy with yourself. So don't let that boy/girl take over your thoughts and life; just accept that you are better off. Because who wants to be with someone that doesn't want you back?

Old-Fashioned

So I came across an article on Yahoo from October 22nd. It discussed how in India over 200 girls legally changed their names. Each girl had a name that meant "unwanted" in Hindi. This article reached out to me emotionally because it's moving to see girls unloved and unwanted by their own family. One girl was quoted saying she was named by a disappointed grandfather. People don't understand the emotional scarring that can come from this form of verbal abuse. However, it also was encouraging to see that society is beginning to see the negative effect they are having on girls and are acknowledging girls. And this isn't just occurring in developing countries. Girls here in America can be suffocated and limited to what they can or can't do by their families due to tradition, religion, or just simple prejudice. Those with closed views like these really don't understand the worth a girl can provide to a society. We provide new points of view, creativity, initiative, and other worthy traits. If you feel stifled or believe you are not good enough, from your family or from peers, I can guarantee you that you are not. And as this article shows, society is beginning to release old fashioned traditions, and are creating new ones, such as the renaming ceremony.