And so it begins. The classic coming of age story about a twentysomething girl, finding her way in the city. After graduating (with an Arts degree- questionable choice, but we'll learn about that later) she finds a one bedroom apartment and she buys a cat. Life is sweet. She's a living, breathing, cat-hugging cliche of a single girl. To many people that's how it looks from the outside, that's about as interesting as it gets, and maybe, that's even where the story ends. But that girl is me, and unless I am a total wet blanket, I think we both know thats hardly all there is to tell. The more you get to know people, the more you learn that almost no-one is living their life like it appears from the outside. I'm going to tell you what its really like to be a twentysomething, to live alone, dabble in online dating, attempt to navigate my first functional relationship, work for the boss from hell, and try to find my feet in "this economy". Come on, you know what I mean. But before we can even get to that part of the story, you have to understand how the story begins. So here goes nothing...

I was the 6th-grade "slut." And I kept a diary. So I decided to create The UnSlut Project in the hopes that my own diary entries could provide some perspective to girls who currently feel trapped and ashamed. I am publishing these entries one at a time, without changing a single word except for the names of the people involved. My limited commentary, which is confined to brackets in each entry, is meant to provide the relief of my current perspective, fifteen years later. The UnSlut Project: Working to undo the dangerous slut shaming in our schools, communities, media, and culture by sharing knowledge and experiences.