People don't realize just how much a label weighs on a person.

At the age of eight I was introduced to the world of sex among other things and ever since then I have been labeled a slut. I have been called every single bad name you can think of. Now ten years later I finally lost the name and it feels as though a major weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. People don't realize just how much a label weighs on a person... and over the years they just kept adding on and on and last year I even attempted suicide... more than once. But I came to the realization that it is not what I have done that has gained me the labels, but what people thought of the acts I have done. They judged me before they knew me (sorry using a Shrek quote here). I was lost in a world where people told me over and over what I was, but in actual fact it is not who I am. I rise above those labels and name calling. I rise out of the ashes of my shed tears and broken spirit. I rise high above them, because I know in my heart that I am not a slut. What happened to me does not define who I am. It does not tell me who I am supposed to be. I know of many girls who go through this, being labeled and name called. We don't deserve it and I just appreciate you speaking out about this. I know now that labels do not define me nor do they set my future. I decide that for myself. - Anika