Feral as Fuck
Somewhere along the way, women were taught that every decision needed an audience.
Wear the outfit...
but make sure it's flattering.
Post the photo...
but don't look like you're trying too hard.
Want love...
but don't seem desperate.
Have sex...
but not too soon.
Stay single...
but don't wait too long.
Speak your mind...
but be nice about it.
It's exhausting.
What if becoming "feral as fuck" isn't about becoming louder?
What if it's simply about no longer asking for permission?
Wear the dress because you catch yourself in the mirror and smile.
Post the picture because you feel beautiful in your own skin, not because you're fishing for approval.
Take the solo trip.
Get the tattoo.
Start over.
Fall in love.
Stay single.
Date with intention.
Date just because it's fun.
None of those choices make you more or less worthy.
They only have to make sense to you.
The older I get, the less interested I am in living a life that's easy for other people to explain.
People are going to have opinions no matter what you do.
If you're quiet, you're cold.
If you're confident, you're arrogant.
If you're ambitious, you're intimidating.
If you're sensual, you're "asking for attention."
If you're selective, you're "too picky."
It's fascinating how quickly people will write a story about your life using only the chapter they happened to witness.
Let them.
You don't owe anyone footnotes.
One of my favorite quotes is from Eleanor Roosevelt:
"You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do."
And isn't that the truth?
Most people aren't lying awake dissecting your decisions.
They're wondering if they're good enough.
They're worrying about their body.
Their relationship.
Their bills.
Their future.
The few who spend their energy judging your life?
That's a reflection of where their attention lives, not where yours should.
You get one life.
One body.
One wildly temporary existence.
Wear the bikini.
Order dessert.
Change careers.
Say no.
Say yes.
Text him.
Don't text him.
Delete the app.
Download it again.
Move cities.
Stay put.
Whatever you choose, let it be because it belongs to you.
Not because it earned the approval of strangers you'll never meet.
Maybe that's what being feral as fuck really means.
Not chaos.
Not recklessness.
Not being impossible to love.
Just becoming so deeply rooted in your own life that other people's opinions stop feeling like instructions.
Because freedom isn't doing whatever you want.
Freedom is realizing you never needed permission in the first place.