Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Viva.
The Deception surrounding being a school cheerleader
When I began junior or high school in seventh grade, Carol was in the eight grade. She was a pretty girl, about 5”7 inches tall slender and popular. She had shoulder length blonde hair and hazel eyes and was a cheerleader. She was actually the captain of the group. Looking back I would say she resembled Marcia Brady from the television show The Brady Bunch, only a few inches taller. I would see her walking through the halls of school with her hair bouncing on her shoulders, often with an enterauge of other cheerleaders with her. I was a shy teen and would imagine what it must be like to be so pretty and popular.
Cheryl E PrestonPublished 4 years ago in VivaDiary of A Mixed up Girl
I'm inhaling and exhaling, I'm starting to loose my breath and all I see are my parents crying and pacing around our tiny room. They start yelling as you would expect any parent to react, I mean they did sell their home and up root the whole family to another country with everything they had. In my head I'm thinkin to myself "How can you be so stupid and let this happen?" "I've just ruined everything." My sisters were crying and couldn't even look me in the eyes, I just felt my whole world shatter and everything I thought I knew faded into nothingness. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore.
Tabz Maya GrashuisPublished 4 years ago in VivaI Am Woman
So the frozen embryo transfer (FET) happened today. I'm not quite sure how to process this yet; there are so many feelings welling up inside of me that I don't know if I should be ecstatic and hopeful or hide under the covers until it's all over. I think I'm somewhere in between those two extremes right now to be honest. A friend of mine who's been in my shoes more than once told me that for her the hardest part was waiting those 2 weeks to find out whether or not implantation was successful. My doctor told me to think of this window of uncertainty as a little vacation but how can I relax with all these fears and doubts in my head? I thought that maybe writing it all down would help so that some day, even if things don't go as planned, I can look back on this time with a better sense of appreciation for what I endured.
What Are You Thinking About?
Tread lightly – she's watching. If I make one wrong move here I'll be sleeping on the sofa with a pillow for comfort for the next two weeks. But I'd like to think no negativity can come of this little write-up, to be fair. I just sort of want to use this space to express a few things – from a man's perspective. But, if it wasn't for this vocal challenge, I'd never dare to cross the threshold of the Viva community to begin with. But I'm here. So, you'll have to deal with me for a short while. Sorry about that.
Long Live Aggressive Women
I am an aggressive woman. Not too long ago this label would have mortified me. Being aggressive and direct are masculine identified traits, and I was taught from a young age to be softer; yielding. Women are taught to take what others offer with poise. To internalize every judgment, slight, or act of violence and transform it, within the crucible of our bodies, into love and forgiveness. As I’ve grown older, and more aware of the inequities within our society, it has become clear to me how convenient this docile perception of femininity is to the current power structure. I have also gained the ability to articulate how painful this expectation is. Not only to me, but to all women and people of minority experience who have been told that their success and personhood is tied to their ability to perform, and to provide for those who fail to recognize their intrinsic value.
Leigh GreenPublished 4 years ago in VivaThe Reality of Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a medical condition. It’s a disorder that causes tissue which normally grows inside the uterus to grow outside the uterus; most commonly endometriosis causes the tissue to grow on the ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and intestines. While there are hormone therapies and surgeries available for treatment, there is no cure. Treatment can also be little to no effective.
Feminism in the modern world
I remember the first time i guy looked at me like i was prey, he glanced me up and down and told me that he "would defiantly give it to me". He thought he was being charming, i just felt sick. I remember getting changed at least 4 times before going out because i was scared that if i wore what made me feel good about myself, i would attract unwanted attention. I remember having to spend a night avoiding my boss at a party as he kept trying to pull me into rooms alone, and feeling so intimidated that i felt like i had to ask his permission to leave. I've had to pretend that male friends are my boyfriend whilst out, fearing that this is the only way to get other boys to stop harassing me.
- Created with: INTIMINA
How I Learned to Love My Period
On April 26, 2006, I had a near-death experience. Or so I thought. It was a regular Wednesday morning. I was a regular fifth-grader in a regular town, and the sky was its regular blue; I thought this would just be another regular day. That is, until I ran to the bathroom before catching the school bus. I never made it onto the bus.
Jules FortmanPublished 4 years ago in Viva Lessons Learned From Menopause
Most women I know welcomed menopause but I did not and I believe it had something to do with the timing of my first menstrual period. As far as I can recall, all of the girls I grew up with began their monthly cycles at age 11 or 12. I, however, was a late bloomer in more ways than one. When I was in the 5th grade in an all black school, we went to the multi purpose room one day and a white woman showed us a sex ed film. This was the first time in five years at this school that I had ever seen a Caucasian face so this event has stuck with me. The woman explained where babies came from and also talked about monthly periods. She said that girls needed a towel and a belt to catch the blood and in my mind I pictured myself wearing a bath towel, held in place by a leather belt. It’s entirely possibly that the film we watched may have had illustrations of how to utilize the old school sanitary pads but I obviously was not paying attention.
Cheryl E PrestonPublished 4 years ago in VivaPart 2: People Need To Start Taking Johnny Depp's Allegations Against Amber Heard Seriously
If you’ve been following the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard drama since it started back in 2016, you might have noticed the mass of conflicting stories that have been circulating. It really has become a he said/she said situation and quite frankly, it isn’t looking good for Heard. Now if you’re sitting there thinking “wait, what happened?” That’s why I’m here cause apparently, news outlets just don’t seem to care when it’s a man who is abused.
Waste Free, Period
About a year ago I decided to tackle my menstrustral cycle waste head on and be done with it, period. (yes, pun intended, lol). I have never been a fan, since the first day I discovered those pesky feminine products, of the waste I was producing every month and the health warnings that came with them. My monthly flow served with the potential side of Toxic Shock Syndrome was not appealing in the least. Which made my first menstrual cycle (and every one after that) more frustrated, anxious and guilty.
Heirloom & FlourishPublished 4 years ago in VivaHear My Cry
I don't know what else to do with all of this. These emotions are so overwhelming that it feels like a weight on my chest. Trying to keep a smile on my face in front of my friends and family is very taxing. Sometimes i feel like screaming just to see if that would help. Things at my job of become harder to focus on because I can't stop thinking about how i feel so alone. You might be wondering why i feel this way, what is the reason for me to have this much going on. Well i will tell you. My name is Zeek Taylor, don't ask me why a girl has the name Zeek I think my parents thought I was a boy, anyway, I am 26 years old and I work as a retail sales associate. Well now that you know who I am, I will tell you how everything began. When i was 18 years old, I met this guy who was very handsome and charming. We began to talk as friends an then i began to want more from him. I was still young but old enough to understand how relationships worked. Oh did i mention that i was a virgin also? No? Oh well, there you go. Moving on, I began to start falling in love with him, he was showing me new things and being so kind a loving. Three months into our relationship i decided to take the plunge and ask him to take my V-card. I was excited when he told me he would be honored because he loves me. Well you can imagine i was on cloud 9 right? So one night i snuck out to go meet him, He was in his nice fancy car sitting right out front my house waiting for me. I felt so special, He was being very attentive to my feelings of nervousness and acknowledging that i was terrified. So in order to help me relax he took me to a hotel just so we can have our own privacy with no interruptions at all. Oh! I forgot to tell you guys abut him. Pause a moment and let me tell you. His name was Damien George. He was 21 at the time of us meeting, he worked at another retail store in the same mall that I worked at so i would see him around but not very often, like maybe every month or so. But one day he came into my store and introduces himself to me. You can imagine the rest his history. Well he lived with his parents which i can seriously relate to. But fast forward to the hotel, he had bought chocolates and my fave white roses, it was perfect, it helped me relax and get comfortable more. So as the night went on he began slowly, coaxing me to want him to touch me more. I wanted him to just get it over with to be honest, I wanted to do nothing but be in his arms and belong to no one but him. So i took the first step and kissed him. He did all the rest. By the time all our clothes were off he dawned a condom and said to me "I don't want anything to ruin this moment with you so it better to be protected." I agreed. I watched as he put the condom on and began to get a little nervous. He noticed and came down on top of me kissing me, whispering to me how beautiful i am taking my mind off of everything, and at that moment i felt it. The tip of his penis begins to enter me slowly. It started off okay, but then it grew very painful. I bit my lip to keep from crying and tried to breath through it. i took everything in me not to push him off and run, but then, everything began to start feeling better, still sore, but, good. Before i knew it i was getting lost in him and the feel of our love making. His pace began to quicken and I didn't know why. I asked him to slow down as it was still sore for me, he didn't slow down. Next he pulls out and flips me onto my stomach, I didn't know what was going on but i stayed still. This time he entered me from behind, but something felt off, i didn't feel that rubber latex feel as he began again. I asked him if he still had the condom on, he didn't answer. I tried to pull away just to see if he had it on, but he pinned me down to the bed with his full weight, wrapped both hands around my neck from behind and says, "You will shut the fuck up, don't move and take this dick or you will regret it." At that moment i realized something was seriously wrong. I tried to wiggle to get him off of me but it didn't work, "Stop fucking moving or i will hit you, you little bitch." Now at this point i was terrified. I began to kick and flail to get him off of me. His hands tighten around my neck and I can't breathe. I start to claw at his hands to try and get them off, and then he just..... stops. He grunts and pulls my hair and whispers into my ear, " Tell anyone and i will make sure no one believes a word you say. Who the hell is going to believe a whore like you anyway, stupid bitch." I was shattered. This was the man I thought i was going to be in a serious relationship with. I trusted him enough to give him my first time. I tried to fight him off of me when i became uncomfortable but he didn't stop. Now what am i supposed to do? I laid there crying my eyes out. He comes back to the bed, roughly pulls me by my arm and punches me in the face. I saw spots and lights dancing before my very eyes. The last thing i remember from that night is the feeling of disgust of have from trusting a man that raped me. How am I going to tell anyone? I gave him a yes to having sex with me but in the end it turned violent. As i cry my eyes out walking home at 5am i realized that i have just been played, my first experience turned into a nightmare. How can I trust any man after this? Months pass by and i noticed i started to gain weight. I make a doctors appointment to figure out how come i'm gaining so much weight and how come my period never came. My mom would tell me maybe its because of stress from work, and i agreed with her, so i made an appointment with my OBGYN. There she asks me a lot of questions, some i didn't know how to answer. She later tells the nurse she needs a urine sample from me and to get me ready for an ultrasound. I'm completely confused at this point but if it will help me figure out whats going on then so be it. After peeing in a cup and getting back in the room, I'm instructed to lift my shirt up to my breast, so i do. The doctor returns and tells me she is going to check on an idea she has that could give me all the answers i need. As i'm laying there she squeezes this very cold gel like stuff onto my stomach and takes the ultrasound doohickey and begins moving it around onto my belly. She then smiles at me and says "congratulations Ms. Taylor, you're going to be a mommy."