As I was just walking down the street, I was approached by a boy. I won't call him a man. He was a child. Probably a freshman. I kept walking, and he was walking with me, definitely not talking to me, but at me. He started bragging about how he went to Berklee. When I didn't answer he told me he played the piano. On the street. I just kept walking, and tried to ignored him, and hoped he would go away. When I actually looked over at him, I realized that this little shit, with no real grasp on actual reality, had already approached me and stalked me just a week before. He didn't remember me, didn't remember that he had harassed me just 7 days prior. He didn't remember that he had asked me every question he was asking me as I violently ignored him and willed him to walk the fuck away from me. He followed me for FOUR BLOCKS.

Berklee has a 32% female population. In most of my classes, I am one of two or three girls in the whole class. I'm honestly used to this. When I originally started at Berklee, the ratio was even lower. I didn't really think about the implications of this until I became a business student, and I saw that the boys were favored over me. I quickly realized I couldn't go to class in sweats, I had to put on makeup, I had to sit in the front if I wanted to be held to the same standard. Just so I could still get a lower grade than the guy who slumps in his chair and smells like a stuffy unwashed apartment. Eventually I sat in the back.

At Berklee, us ladies are held to a lower standard than most. When I am approached, which isn't often, boys approach me to hit on me, not to have a conversation. They then pretend that they're genuinely interested in me, even when they dont remember stalking me down the street just the week before. I am objectified and stared at. Nobody talks about the fact that I am studying copyright law, or that I aspire to own my own venue. It doesn't occur to the boys that someday us girls may be a good business connection, or - GOD FORBID - a good friend.

I do want to say that I understand that people of color are a larger minority group, by statistic. I am in no way diminishing any other minority population at Berklee, or their experiences. I am simply writing about my own. Please know that I am not unaware of other minority struggles at my school, or the city of Boston. I would also like to PSA that I know not all boys at Berklee are creeps. I do know a decent number of very good guys, and have very close and kind and understanding friends who are MEN.

Being a girl at Berklee means being the overlooked minority. It means getting used to being surrounded by boys, and being treated 'like a girl.' It means being swallowed up in testosterone all the time, and that the boys don't learn nearly enough about how to treat women as they should. I wasn't nearly as aware of it last year as I am now.

I should have told this boy so many things. I'm more angry at myself than him for not saying anything. I should have told him that I have a boyfriend, because boys respect more that my body 'belongs' to another boy, not that it belongs to me. I could have simply said "fuck off," or "leave me alone" or "DO YOU NOT REMEMBER STALKING ME LAST WEEK?" I could have had so much fun and told him I have syphilis, or that I'm actually a hermaphrodite. But I just stayed silent, because I was so uncomfortable.

The fact that he made me more uncomfortable with myself is unacceptable. I'm not used to letting boys get under my skin. Generally, I don't have a problem with creeps. Most would call me unapproachable, or frigid. It's true, at school, I was from point A to point B, I put in my headphones, and I seem intimidating. I say hi to my friends, otherwise I keep to myself. I'm exceedingly talented at sending 'leave me the hell alone' vibes.

But being a girl at Berklee is a privilege. I have been given an opportunity to be in the minority, and I plan to do something great with it. Females make up very little of the music industry. When we are successful, we are treated like Kesha or Jojo. We are at the disposal of our male counterparts. I have an opportunity to change that, and help shape the future of this industry.

I implore boys at Berklee to see women as their friends. As real people. Treat people as equals. Berklee is not a babe pool. It is a prestigious school for the exceedingly talented. I implore girls to call the boys out on their shit. I implore MEN to call our boys on their shit. Understand that there is a difference between being a man and a boy. If we treat each other with respect, being a girl at Berklee won't be such a big deal.