this message may be offensive
Shout-out to everyone (Boys, girls, NB, everyone!) who has ever been catcalled, harassed, raped, or just felt uncomfortable. The other day, I was minding my own business, when some guy who worked at the store I was at just said hi and made small talk when I walked in. Nothing big, no major red flags, I just thought he was being nice. There were only a few of us there, so he'd go over and talk to different people. I guess he was a supervisor or something. Anyway, he kept coming back to me, and I started getting kinda weirded out. Then, he asked how old I was. Yes, I know, HUGE red flag. And no, I absolutely did NOT give him my actual age. I told him I was like 14 or something, a few years off from my age. Clearly, I am a minor, so this wasn't okay at all. He started actually flirting with me in that "not-so-lovable-asshole" way, and I just couldn't wait to leave. I would have left sooner, but I was in the middle of something that required me to stay there, so I just dealt with it, occasionally telling him "No," in a serious voice. He never got the message. Eventually, he wandered off and I could leave, so I hightailed it out of there. Women especially, please learn from my mistakes and don't make conversation back. Make sure that everything you say sounds confident, because these kinda of people tend to pray on the insecure. If you feel uncomfortable and unsafe, LEAVE. You can always finish what you were in the middle of later, but you can't go back in time and fix your mistakes. Be safe!