Sista Clinik

Photo: thoughtcatalog.com I grew up in the company of two impish boys and a father sometimes I wished I could vanquish to a far away Island. At school, I enjoyed the company of guys better than my fellow girlfriends. It was something about the freedom I felt when I was with them. The freedom to be myself because, well, guys, they don’t really give a hoot about things. I would choose hanging out with a guy over a girl any day because it was less dramatic and there was no silent competitions. Then I had my first boy best friend. He was really cute, fun, a lot like me. We were doing great, until oneday he told me he ‘liked liked’ me.  I thought “But I only wanted a bestie in you. Someone I could share my pringles with without things getting intense.  I could never think of us the same way again. “Can women really be best friends with guys without the latter catching feelings and thus, making everything weird and complicated?” Photo: thoughtcatalog.com

A lot has been said (and written) about how it is always a woman's fault when a 'beautiful' relationship ends. Adding just this short piece won't be the final gavel-dropping exercise to signify an end to this 'discussion'—if I can call it such. It is really depressing to hear a section of society, sometimes women, leading charges against other women who have ended their marriages or relationships on their own terms. The questions often asked of the women who end their relationships include the 'why didn't you stay and work it out?' Some of these 'advisors' also question why these women couldn't endure the problems and 'hold it together' but choose the exit route. www.onesmartsista.com Marriages or relationships are never a smooth sailing affair. It has its bumps as it has its joys. Sometimes, the challenges are so enormous that one cannot hold it together any longer and the surest way to save one's self is

Photo: eretzsongs.blogspot.com It has been about two years since I had an abortion. But I still relive the pain and fears like it happened just yesterday. I still remember how my mind blacked out, the numbness of my fingers, the dryness of my throat, the fears and anxieties of ‘how the hell did I get pregnant?!’ I am obsessed with NOT ‘accidentally’ getting pregnant again, so much that I think I have started abusing drugs especially ECPs (Emergency Contraceptive Pills); even though I know these are only to be taken in cases of emergencies and not actually to be used as normal birth control pills. 

You get up, blood in face, a loose tooth, bruises on your wrists, with half-closed eyes, you stare and just before you can utter any word, he hits you again. You are left on the floor writhing in pain and when you finally get the strength to drag yourself up, you walk up to him and say “I am sorry” to which he replies “You know I love you, you should stop making me do this to you”.