#MeAt14

With all the recent controversy surrounding Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, women have begun sharing photos of themselves at fourteen years old on Twitter with the hashtag #MeAt14.

Here I am in all of my awkward fourteen-year-old glory! 

At 14, my biggest concerns in life were;

·      Why didn’t my hair behave and do those perfect little Farrah Fawcett wings?  It wasn’t until much later in life that I began to appreciate my hair – full of natural body and curls.

·      How high school was going to be so scary? I survived the horrors of Junior High with the help of a few good friends, but I wasn’t exactly the popular type that would fit right into the high school scene.

·      What would I be when I grew up? It was such a big question.  I loved to write and I had toyed with the idea of journalism, but then my older sister came home and announced journalism as her major.  I was never one to copy others, so I shelved the writing idea and began to explore what else the world might have in store for me in the future.

·      Boys, like all 14 year old girls I wondered about boys.  Did any boys like me?  Did that one cute boy from English class even know my name?  Would I get asked to the homecoming dance?

These are all normal teenage thoughts. 

What I did not wonder about was whether or not a 30 year old man wanted to “date” me.  By the way – if a 30 year old man is with a 14 year old girl, it is NOT called dating, it is sexual abuse and he is a predator and a pedophile.

I don’t care what your politics are – 30 year olds should NEVER be “dating” a 14 year old.  14 year olds should be worrying about their algebra homework and the school dance, they should never ever be worrying about a 30 year old district attorney who is stalking them like prey.