Our caregivers are responsible for showing us what love is supposed to look and feel like. Parenting is no easy feat, however, an overwhelming number of us navigate relationships with warped views of how to love and very little understanding of how to be loved.

Often, we are taught that sex is sacred, but for what reasons? Purity culture and the control of women’s bodies are usually the motivations for such lessons. In retaliation, we have swung the pendulum to the other extreme, embarking on a journey of false sexual liberation in an attempt to prove we too can harbour the same spiritless sex lives men are so widely encouraged to have. But is this truly liberation?

Most of us remember how (slightly) traumatic it was getting your first period, usually at the most inconvenient time, and immediately arriving at the conclusion that you were dying. Or the time your boobs started to grow, you became shapelier, and men (not boys) began to notice you at the tender age of 11.

When I thought about journaling, I would picture myself curled up in bed with a cup of tea writing leisurely about my day, feeling rejuvenated immediately after and ready to take on the world. The reality is… somewhat different.