The time that changed my life, it was a day like every other but I was going to my grandmas to visit. We were planing to go to Lake Arrowhead with my great grandma, grandma, and cousin. I was so excited because I haven’t seen any of them in years, especially my cousin because I used to look up to him when I was younger. But this day was changed my life and I will never be the same. My cousin called me up in the middle of the night to come with him, I didn’t think anything of it and went with him. I walked into the room and sat in the bed, telling him why he called me. He then pushed me on the bed and held me there. I was extremely scared and had no idea what to do. I have never been in a situation like this and I’ve never done anything sexual in my life. He just held me and told me things about how when growing up he thought I was beautiful and sexy. I looked up to him, he was my role model, and he was one of my only friends growing up. He then said we were just going to cuddle. He then started to touch my butt and tried to shove his hand down my sweatpants. I froze, I was petrified, and I had no idea what to do. He then touched my breasts and whispered things in my ear. I snapped out of it and realized what was happening and I told him to stop over and over again. But he ignored my words and tried to do what he wanted. I eventually convinced him to stop but under the condition that I don’t tell a single person. I cried in the bathroom for over an hour and called my boyfriend. I told him what happened and I blamed myself for what happened. He told me to tell someone or to get out of that house. I told my grandma and I didn’t tell my parents until a month had passed. This moment in my life was horrible and I hate thinking about it, but I am overcoming it. I learned that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself and that some people don’t care about others. This will affect my future because I am going to be very distant from people, I don’t think that I will be able to trust for a while. This event is going to have a lot of negative effects on me but the one positive one it gave me was to let me focus on myself. To not worry about others for once. To make sure that I love myself for me. My name is Riley Cohen and I thank you for reading my story, I pray that you don’t judge me, and I hope you have a wonderful day.

The greatest challenge that I faced was this year, I went on a trip with my grandma and my cousin. Keep in mind that I am 15 and my cousin is 20. I was at my grandmas house and it was late at night, my cousin called me upstairs and I didn’t think anything of it. I went and sat on the bed upstairs and asked what he wanted, he pushed me on the bed and held me there. He is also a lot stronger and bigger than me as well; I couldn’t really do anything and I was petrified. I was scared and he just saw me as something to use for his pleasure. I looked up to him, he was my role model growing up and he only saw me in a sexual way. He didn’t do anything to me but he did try; he touched my breasts and tried to touch my private parts. I eventually convinced him to stop and let me go but under the condition of I wouldn’t tell anyone. I didn’t sleep much that night and I told my grandma hours later. I didn’t tell my parents until a month later and I wish I could've done things differently. I am still dealing with this and am still hurt about it, I try not to think about it but it just comes to mind sometimes. I have my family and my few friends to help me through it but I learned that I should be cautious. I also learned that people are unpredictable and that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. I stressed myself out and blamed myself for what happened, I still do. But I learned that it wasn’t my fault, I didn’t do anything wrong, and everything’s going to be okay.

Hello, my name is Riley Cohen and I have two dogs. The tinier dogs name is Muffin, the German Shepard is named Bear. Muffin is almost 10 and has been with me for as long as I can remember. Bear we got from a shelter when he was a puppy and is the best companion ever. They have helped me through everything and are the main reason I’m still here. Pets are more than just animals; they are family. I also want to be a vet when I’m older because I love animals. My Instagram is xoxo_rileyy07 by the way.

Hello my name is Riley Cohen and I’m going to be telling you a short story. I haven’t been diagnosed with any mental disorders but many of my friends have. I always try to let them know that I’m here for them, that their feelings are valid, and they’re safe with me. It’s hard knowing what my friends have to go through and how they’re feeling all the time. They’ve told me that they felt like they were nothing ,that they didn’t matter, and that they didn’t want to be here. I would always help them with their problems and try my best to make them see that they are never alone. Since I do that, more people started to talk to me about their problems because I’m good with advice. I would try to help as many people as I could but my parents hated that I helped so many people. I would get taken advantage of; for example, this one guy he used the fact that I’m so nice to get closer to me. He tried to do very bad things to me that I will never forget. The worst part about being so nice to everyone is that when I have a problem of my own and I need to talk, no one is there for me. No one would help, no one cared, they just wanted help for them and I didn’t matter. It hurt a lot and I felt as if my voice and feeling weren’t valid. I hid my feelings from everyone so no one would worry about me until my boyfriend came around. He showed me that he cares that he is here to listen, and at first I wondered “does he feel what I feel.” And for the first time in years I feel as if my voice matters, it’s heard, and it’s valid. I will always try and help people, it’s in my nature, but more people need to be aware of mental illnesses. They need to know what it does to people and at least try to help a little. People with mental illnesses are put in this category of they can’t do anything, and it’s very wrong.

The question “what have I done that is bold” is very interesting to me because it makes me think of what I have done to impact people and even myself. I’ve included some pictures and let me explain them to you. The first one with the dog is when I went on a trip and I was at my lowest but I still felt like helping people and I was looking after this dog. The other pictures include me getting awards and graduation of 8th grade. I’ve had a lot of bold moments but not many were caught on camera.