Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Viva.
The Celebration of Women
The celebration and encouragement of womanhood have increasingly grown in the modern world. There are organizations, groups, and charities that help encourage women to be the best they can be and genuinely know their worth. For younger girls in middle school, high school, and college, it's vital for these younger ladies to see a woman being celebrated and shown they can do whatever they put their mind to do, women can do anything. There are organizations out there that represent women all around the world. In Her shoe Movement is an International organization all about women empowerment. As for a global organization, Her Campus magazine is all about catering to the needs of women and celebrating womanhood.
By Monee Myers6 years ago in Viva
BEAUTY THROUGH THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER CAN BE AN ISSUE...
Finding a photo to include for this story was a little difficult as the subject had nothing but mainly upper body photos and hiding those natural breast must be a bit of an issue, so please don’t scrutinize me as being a boob man, I work with what I get and it is is what it is.
By URBAN GLAM LIFE6 years ago in Viva
I Am My Sister's Keeper
When women come together and help each other NOTHING could stand in their way. They are an absolute force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately women have been taught to see each other as a sort of competition. They've been taught it's more acceptable to tear a woman down than to build her up. For centuries women have proven that they are nothing if not strong. They have also proven that they are stronger united. So why is it that a woman's first instinct is to tear down a woman? I believe this comes from decades and decades of men forcing us to behave in a more "civilized" manner. Men knew that when women came together their power has no limit, and this power scared the men. Therefore the men had to separate and reprogram women. As long as the men did this the women were controllable, docile even.
By Terri Kirn6 years ago in Viva
How Floridian Dancer Helen Blondel Inspires Girls One Pop at a Time
Helen Blondel is a professional belly dancer and rising entertainer in the Orlando & Miami, FL areas. Working hard toward her goal earned her many opportunities at a young age. Very few people would know, however, that she battled many issues with self-image and confidence growing up.
By Shahbaz Abbasi6 years ago in Viva
A Letter to Survivors of Rape
The shame is not yours. Shame does not come from within it comes from outside of ourselves. Rape survivors are made to feel ashamed for the crimes committed against them. Society finds excuses, tries to defend offenders and silence the hurting.
By iceprincelebrat6 years ago in Viva
(Improved) Controlling Fear
Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault Content and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder That night was the night that changed my life forever. Changed my view on men and how I just walk around town. I would have never gone to that dance if I knew what was going to happen. Now, every time that I see him my body goes cold, and I struggle to catch my breath. That monster ruined my life for good, and there is no changing that now. I just wish that someone would believe me when I tell them the truth. If he did it to me there has to be more victims out there too. I can’t be the only one.
By Natalie C..6 years ago in Viva
My Foods To Eat When Having Belly Cramps.
As a young adult I wanted to share what I do to help with my belly cramps and overall bad feelings I get during my menstrual cycle. For starters I like to sprinkle flax seeds onto certain things. Whatever you put them on is really your choice. I specifically, like to put them on noodles and more breaded foods. To explain some facts about flax seeds they have a lot of nutrients, it can help prevent cancer risks. They can also help with weight control, grinding them up sometimes is the best way to hide them in your food if you don't like the crunch of them. They don't really have a taste. sesame seeds are very similar to flax seeds. I sometimes like to combine them and grind them both together to put on simple lunches such as ramen. My second food that can be put in almost any lunch or dinner is garlic. Garlic has very little calories, and often helps with a common cold. Garlic also boosts fitness if you're an active person like me! Similar to milk garlic helps build bone strength to help your bones become stronger. Now if you're a fruit lover like me you're going to love this next food. Surprisingly, peaches help a great amount. I usually eat them when I'm grumpy and in pain. They boost my mood and help the pain go away. Berries are another source of fruit that I love having during that time of month. Berries naturally help fight off inflammation in general and can help with menstrual bloating. Berries can also help stop menstrual acne from happening. They help your arteries function like they're suppose too as well. If you really want to get creative you could always make smoothies with berries and peaches. If you love fruits like I do I always like to add other fruits in the blends. Peach ginger smoothies are one of my favourite smoothies. The ingredients of a peach ginger smoothie is 2 cups of frozen sliced peaches, 1 and 1/2 cups of buttermilk, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger. Ginger like berries also, helps greatly with inflammation and can help with most stomach pains. Ginger can also help with morning sickness that a menstrual cycle can cause. A more simple smoothie I like making during my menstrual is a smoothie called the triple berry blend. portions may very depending on how you want and what taste you want more or less. I like to even them out and have 1 and 1 half cup of each berry. The berries that are added into the triple berry smoothie are blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Mix the berries with 1 cup of milk and ice. If you want to boost the taste of sweetness you can always add sugar. Remember you can change the amount of berries depending on what berries you like more. Just make sure to even out the portions. if you add more blackberries remember to add less of one of the other berries or even less of both to keep it even. My 4 favourite berries are strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I always like to explore and look of different berry smoothies to create to mix up what I have. Surprisingly, broccoli helps a lot too. I prefer my broccoli cooked but usually during my menstrual cycle I add broccoli as a side for my dinners. Now obviously these aren't the only foods that could help and what really helps someone with menstrual pains and moods very depending on the woman's body but definitely experimenting makes a huge difference in learning your own body.
By Khora Peck6 years ago in Viva
It’s ok to speak up
Most have heard my story but i’ve decided to speak on it publicly now to raise awareness. My first sexual assault experience was when i was 6 years old at my grandparents house. Won’t mention who but the abuser was biological family & a teenager. He had been dating around, having girlfriends over.. I was close to this person because he lived with us & paid the most attention to me. The first time it happened, was just his hands but we were laying down on blankets in the living room watching the scary movie “Child’s Play”, there was 3 of us.. me, him, and one of my sisters. My sister left to go to bed, which left us two by ourselves. I should’ve went too but being so young to know what it was & him being my family, I honestly never expected anything. He held me close because i was scared of the movie & grabbed my bottom, he put his hands down my pants and touched my private parts. I didn’t say anything because i didn’t know what it was, if it was wrong or what to do. For a reason i’m unsure of, it made us closer, i noticed he would lie for me or take blame for something i did, At the time i thanked him, because being 6 years old, getting the corner for 10 minutes & not being able to play outside was the ultimate punishment but i understand now he was only grooming me because the assaults kept happening. The second assault was in his bed during another movie, he had just had a girl over and i had walked in on them making out. My sister was also in the bed with us. It was right after a bath my grandma gave me, i had only a nightgown and underwear on. During the movie, a funny scene came on and i laughed, he said “what’s funny?” and started tickling me, my sister joined in on tickling but got called into the living room by my grandma and i was dying of laughter, he started tickling my legs and eventually touched my private parts, trying to tickle me there. His finger got stuck on the inside of my underwear which exposed me, he moved his fingers around and told me i was “so adorable”. My grandma called him in the living room & i got up and left. I just thought that’s what was supposed to happen because he’s my family and he “loved me”. I told my grandpa about how my private parts were being tickled, so he confronted him, kicked him out and it never happened again. Fast forward 7 years, I was placed in a foster home, which i was one year from being adopted into, this home was a single mother with 2 sons, household. I fell in love with the family and thought my life was perfect. The younger brother who was 11 years older than me, lived in the home. He wasn’t the typical 24 year old, he acted young, had a playful personality, liked most things 24 year olds call “childish”. He clung to me and he became my big brother that was my bestfriend. My adopted mother held her own, worked long shifts and came home past 5 everyday therefore he was the person who took me to every appointment, take me to school if i missed the bus, pick me up from practices.... I spent most of my time with him. Every morning before my adopted mom would leave for work, she’d open my door and check to make sure i was still in my bed. One summer morning in particular, she checked in on me & left the door open. That morning i got woke up to my adopted older brother over top of me with his clothes off and private parts exposed, he was looking down at his private parts, rubbing it against mine . I thought i was having a nightmare and freaked out. I kicked him and started screaming. He jumped up and started apologizing, begging me not to say anything & not to hate him, said it was an accident, that he couldn’t help himself. He said that i would ruin his military career and that if i told my adopted mom, she wouldn’t adopt me anymore, which is his biological mom so i didn’t tell. When i got older, i could have boyfriends but only at the house supervised & no touching, not even holding hands or hugs. My adopted brother would make remarks to them like “whatever you do to her, i’ll do to you”, “she’s got a nice ass, don’t she?”, “don’t those jeans make her ass look so good?” , etc. Multiple times i had caught him taking pictures of me when i bent down or bent over to get something. It got to the point where it was uncomfortable to move. I started dating a boy my sophomore year and we ended up having sex, my adopted mother found out the same day because i missed practice and took me home to pull instullation as punishment. My foster brother went to that boys house and put a machete to his throat but did not hurt him. I started cross country my freshman year, it was my coping skill to get things off my mind, my way to run away for a few hours... it helped but when i got home from practice, i was drowning again, constant arguments and fights with my adopted mom and having to face my adopted brother everyday with sexual comments and remarks about my looks, i felt trapped... like he owned me. A few years later, 2 girls got moved into our home, one was 15 and one with the same exact birthday as me. The one my age, became my bestfriend, and since we shared birthdays, we considered ourselves sisters/twins. By this time, my adopted brother had moved out about 20 minutes away. I told my foster sister about it almost 2 years after she moved in. She was shocked and was scared because he’s around the house a lot. That halloween, my adopted brother was taking me to one of my appointments & since i was 16, i could drive but only with him there (over 21). So i drove to my appointment but on the way back, I told him about drama that happened at school and he got frustrated and made the comment “that’s like raping someone and being let off the hook for it” , as to which i made the comment back “you would know”. My adopted brother pushed me against the window and hit the steering wheel, while i was driving & we swerved onto the other side. On Christmas that year, it’d been since Halloween that my adopted brother came around our house, so my adopted mom made the comment “i wonder why he hasn’t been around, he won’t answer my calls or texts and he acts like he’s mad at me”. My foster sister says “i know why” and then looks at me. I look down at the floor because all the focus is on me. My adopted mom takes me to her bedroom away from family, with my foster sister and asks me why he’s been gone. my sister says “just tell her bree, you need to tell her”... so i tell her and she starts crying and hugging me, asking me repeatedly why i hadn’t told her. The very next day, she changed the security alarm codes, the locks to the house, locks every bedroom window and calls him to tell him he’s no longer welcome at our home. A few weeks pass and my adopted brother calls my adopted mom and asks to take her to dinner to talk. My adopted mom comes home with a new attitude towards me and says “you’re only trying to ruin his military career” , i try to explain to her and tell her he’s lying, that it’s true & she throws her plastic cup, full of water & it hits me in the right ear. Life went to hell after that, i was in Co-Op at school, which is where i had enough credits to graduate, just took electives until 1pm then left to work. I skip work to hangout with my current boyfriend and my adopted mom finds out. She takes the battery out of my car, takes me out of co-op, shattered my phone, and had me at the couch from the moment i got out of school to the moment it hit 8:30pm, then straight to bed. No TV, only homework. She checked my closets nightly for hidden phones and recorders. My current boyfriend & my foster sisters boyfriend showed up at church, which had the same Sunday school class as my adopted brother. During prayer requests, my adopted brother made one & said “strength to not kill my little sisters boyfriend”, so my boyfriend made a request that was “strength to not kill my girlfriends molestor”, the room became loud full of screaming and arguing. My adopted mom put me in the truck and went inside to talk the situation out with our Pastor. I took it as an opportunity to run away and get free from the hell. I kissed my niece and nephew & handed them my phone so i couldn’t be tracked and told them to keep it to remember their aunt bree”... i ran so fast i almost passed out, i went about a mile down the road until i reaches our church’s neighbor... i knocked on their door and screamed “help me”, they brought me in & called 911. 911 shows up, takes my statement of why i ran & puts me in an investigation room. After interviewing my adopted mom & my adopted brother, they released me back into custody of them. The state trooper looked me dead in my eyes and said “stop making things up just so you can keep your boyfriend” , mind you that i told her about it before a month before i got in trouble so it had nothing to do with him. Things stayed the same, my adopted brother came over a lot, didn’t say anything just stared. My niece and nephews mother called CPS on my adopted mom because i ran away & an investigator came out to talk. I used it as an opportunity to get out. Their mom told this investigator about all the hits and remarks that she’d witnessed , all the harsh punishments i received, how i had ran away once before for 13 hours to a trap house in the west end of Louisville just to get away from my mom. She spoke to me in my room and i told her i felt as if mine and my foster sisters life was in danger. My foster sister had a therapy appointment at our foster care agency in 40 minutes. We all left and went to her therapy session, the investigator followed. That night we were placed into a foster home.
By Aubree Madyson Bruce6 years ago in Viva
Women Who Love Themselves, Love Other Women
The Value of Your Why…Have You Thought About It? My drive and motivation are somewhere deep inside, I just have to pull it out with pride. No joy in your heart, just look at what you’ve accomplished thus far. It’s so miraculous how dreams can just appear in your reality. Not knowing where to start, is a start.
By Shanice Dockins6 years ago in Viva
Yes, Really - It's 2020 and Still a Boys' Club
The country I live in is First World, progressive and encourages freedom of speech. I am from a privileged background, my parents are together, and I don’t consider myself to be part of any minorities. I should have nothing to complain about, yet here I am.
By Diana Osborne6 years ago in Viva
