After reading Megan Williams’ “The Monster,” I simply sat in silence for a few moments because that piece just moved me so much. Williams describes the aftershocks of sexual assault: the traumatic scars it bears, the psychological damage, and the feeling of devastation. In “The Monster,” the narrator constantly mentions someone she refers to as “The Monster” and cleverly avoids telling why this person is such a “monster” until later on in piece which keeps the audience reading. We later find out that “The Monster” was once her boyfriend whom after raping her, left her emotionally scarred as she quotes, “I can't remember a time before The Monster, and I know I'm fading into nothingness.” The narrator also mentions that while she suffered from the aftershocks and trauma of the event, she had no one to turn to. “My parents ask why they don't see my friends anymore. Is there a good way to say I was sexually assaulted and they don't believe me?”

          That sentence and more like those were what blew me away. Reading that the narrator was all alone and had no one to turn to left me shocked and heartbroken. The fact that no one even bothered to believe her was the most tragic part. Although I've never gone through such an experience, I could certainly empathize with the narrator and felt horrified that she was forced to bear this burden alone.
          This piece also serves as a reminder to society of the monstrosity of sexual assault and the fact that treating someone in such a way, no matter who you are, is wrong. This article helped spread awareness to teenagers everywhere of this fact. I also thought that it was incredibly brave of Williams to have shared a piece that deals with such a heavy, controversial, and personal topic. It takes tremendous courage to out a piece like this out there and I must congratulate Megan Williams for doing that.