When no means maybe, and maybe means yes.

Saying no is actually one of the hardest things for me to do.

My life has had so many good seasons, and so many bad seasons. Growing up, I learned that no meant maybe. And maybe meant yes. "No" never mattered. People take what they want, and that is why the world is full of chaos and secrets and shame.

When a man asks if you want to fuck him, and you say no, he kisses your neck and tries to convince you that you actually do want to fuck him.

When a man asks for your number, asks to buy you a drink, asks to take you out - saying no is heard as maybe, and as we know, maybe means yes.

Words have been drained of conviction and meaning.

Saying no puts me at risk. It is easier to give something I do not really want to give than to have it taken from me.

So I give everything, my time, my body, my hopes and dreams. I try to hide my heart away, but when you give everything away, there is nothing left to hide it behind. It becomes exposed and it too, is taken.

If there is no maybe, and there is nothing to tell others that something is not okay, how do we expect, as a people, to be okay.? When everything is taken, or given, with stomachs in knots and gritting of teeth, how can we, as humans, expect to live? No means no in our heads, but no rarely means no in the ears of those who ransack others for all they are worth, all they could be worth. -AshleyAnne