Not having the language to describe my experiences pushed me further into a corner. Learning the term “love bombing” transformed the way I reclaimed my story.

The more the world seemed to be on fire, the closer my girlfriend wanted to be while it had the complete opposite effect on me. Sex never crossed my mind. It only came up when I thought about how I felt bad for her that I no longer wanted it.

These standards and expectations leave women questioning their bodies and confidence. The marks and scars left behind are a part of me, but they do not detract from what makes me, me - no matter what other people think.

Advocating for myself, publicly and privately, has been the most significant component of my self-love journey.

Prioritizing penetration over everything else explicitly sidelines people who can’t, won’t, or don’t want to have anything to do with it.

If I were to end up conceiving, I would terminate the pregnancy as that was something I was not ready for. I was confident in this choice however, as resolute as I was, nothing could prepare me mentally or physically for the multiple invasions I was going to experience.