viva la mujer. 
however, this is not to say that our hermanos cannot be raped.
or that our hermanas cannot rape.
it is an entire culture that we must change.

i am the woman in the photograph.
october first two thousand and nine,
eighteen years old. i woke up at three in the morning,
with four hours i will never get back. in my own room.
he was a best friend i knew for seven years. i am a survivor.

and there are so many more of you. 
and it’s fucked, i know.

we need a world where our children have basic human ethics taught alongside the alphabet and coloring. adding. not just westernized perspectives, but multi-dimensional history and knowledge. and her story too for that matter, adding. equal signs. knowing what equality means in equations and human relations.
sick of racism and sexism, and everybody is children hurting inside.