I was so much more powerful than anyone knew. I was an animal learning to fight back, instinctively, fiercely. I was a brave girl. I was a fit fox. I realized that the most empowering important thing was actually simply taking care of myself.

I realized that the most empowering important thing was actually simply taking care of myself.

It was heartbreaking to realize how we can fail the people we most love without even trying.

Chinese proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This journey had begun with the coercion of my body, with my own wild hope.

I had no evidence. No physical signs of my rape existed anymore. My body had already purged them. That was the irreversible reality.

If I could mark clearly, convincingly and consistently what was good for me and also what was bad—if I could say yes and also no, as if it were the law—it would become my law.

I had once again proven that again alone, I was again enough.