I am a woman. I exist in the world independent of any man. I am here regardless of your relationship to me. And I deserve to be respected as a human being.

I shouldn’t have to be scared of what every man could be thinking. I shouldn’t have to watch my back to make sure a man isn’t looking at me.

At thirteen – and trust me, I looked my age - my cousin shouldn’t have had to curse at a man with gray hair who was hitting on me.

At fourteen, my father shouldn’t have had to tell me that I couldn’t walk home alone because men could be waiting in the dark to kidnap me.

At fifteen, my boyfriend shouldn’t have had to step in and tell a boy who was harassing me to stop even though I had asked the boy to stop already.

At sixteen, I shouldn’t have had to hear that a boy was peeking into the girl’s dressing room during rehearsal for the school musical.

At seventeen, I shouldn’t have had to lie about my age to men repeatedly so they would stop distracting me from working with what was basically polite catcalling.

At eighteen, I shouldn’t have had to kick my best friend out of my dorm room because being alone with each other at night obviously meant I wanted to sleep with him.

And now at nineteen, strange men shouldn’t be calling me a “bitch” because I refuse to stop and speak to them as I walk down the street.

I am not here for you to look at. I am not just my body. I am not a thing. I don’t owe you anything because you gave me a compliment.

My body is not something I can control. I am not flaunting it around waiting for a man to come and tell me how pretty I am. It doesn’t matter if you’re famous. It doesn’t matter if you have money. I am not lucky to be hearing your opinion of my looks. I am disgusted that you can only see me for what’s on the outside.

I have a mind. I have a voice. I have goals and dreams. And they shouldn’t be diminished because I fit certain standards of beauty.

And when you decide to step in, it shouldn’t be because I could be your sister or your daughter. It should be because I am a human being and I deserve respect.