“You know the problem with you women, women don’t know what it takes to keep a man. Women need to learn how to keep a man.”

This is a man’s world, sang James Brown more than half a decade ago.

Since I can remember my body has gotten me a lot of attention. Mostly negative based on the way I feel after receiving people's opinions or advances.

5 years ago I was going to the gym at least 5-6 times a week. I was working out, squatting, drinking my post work out smoothies and had the best looking ass of my life. Near that same time I was entering the first stages of my life as a sexually active woman and men started to notice. I guess you could say that those early stages were when I "peaked". I was getting a lot of attention that I wasn't used to like men wanting to take me on dates, sleep with me and call me pretty. Men that had the chance to see me naked went nuts about my body yet I was still unsatisfied with the way that I looked. For a solid year I was working out and living the single life. My figure looked fit and I was quite busy with men. From the outside, it may have looked like my self esteem was at its apex. But the truth is, my self esteem had never been any lower.

Pissed off and in pain.

UK's definition of Endometriosis is:

Retro sweat to red tents. We discussed it ALL.

My journey through abuse has been long, exhausting and at most times it felt never ending. I’ve spent most of my life feeling like I’m drowning and I’m still learning how to navigate through my life as an adult, even though I sometimes still feel like a vulnerable 10-year-old girl.

Let’s pick up a few shifts, as a side hustle while in school, I thought to myself. After all, working as a bartender or server in a high end restaurant in a big city can yield some nice cash. If you’re a student or at the beginning of a career with many expenses and zero third party support, making some extra bucks to alleviate the struggle is appealing. However, it comes at a price.