• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Its a Hero

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Sponsor and Advertising
  • Categories
    • recipes
    • brews + food
    • wellness
    • events
    • dairy-free
    • money saving tips
    • Explore Ohio
    • Family Travel
    • tips + tricks
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • giveaway
    • printables
  • Instagram Links

Syracuse

#MeToo

November 30, 2017 by Rachel 20 Comments

I’ve gone back and forth about publishing this since the original #MeToo movement started. Truthfully, there are about a million other holiday-themed posts I should be posting right now. But this is just too important to put off for any longer.

A part of me hasn’t wanted to share this story because, well, it’s hard revisiting some of these things, ya know? Because once I opened the floodgates in my memory, the memories came pouring back in. And there are plenty of #MeToo memories.

But in light of some of the recent allegations of men in positions of power, I decided to finally share the one story that feels most similar.

...in light of some of the recent allegations of men in positions of power, I decided to finally share the one story that feels most similar. #MeToo Click To Tweet

In 2005, while I was still an undergrad, I started a sales job at a large cable company in Syracuse, New York. I loved my job, I loved the people I was working with, and I loved being part of a team. Oh — the excellent money and full benefits were a huge perk! I was leaps and bounds ahead of the job game with a ‘real job’ before graduation!

At the time I lived in a small 1.5 bedroom apartment by myself. Well, my puppy, Oscar, lived with me, too. I would wake up at 4am, go to the gym for two hours, head home before going to class, and go straight from class to my job until 10pm. I had weekends free and, since I was in my early 20s at the time, would head out with friends after work to the local pub on occasion. Basically, I was living the 20-something dream.

Since I was a non-traditional undergrad, many of my friends came from work instead of school. It was no big deal, but most of my friends were also about 5-10 years older than me.

Well one night I had a couple of friends over for wine and laughs — one school friend (female) and one work friend (male). Eventually my girlfriend had to leave to go see her boyfriend. Again, no big deal. Well minutes later, while hanging with my male friend, I had a knock on my door.

It was a male supervisor from the sales department.

He was not invited.

He looked up my address in our work billing system.

He drove to my house.

My (male) work friend and I were… shocked. I didn’t know what to do. The supervisor asked if he could come in and just hang out while he was waiting for his friends to meet up. Again, intimidated, I didn’t know what to do. So I let him in.

The supervisor asked if he could use my laptop real quick to look something up about where he was meeting his friend. I said sure.

He didn’t look up his meeting spot. He looked up porn instead.

At this point I pretended to be really exhausted and nodded to my male friend like “Dude, please get him to leave.” So my male friend suggested to the supervisor that they both leave so I could get some sleep. They both left. My male friend waited with his car running so that he could come back in and check on me, but the supervisor just waited in his car with it running, too.

My friend drove off in hopes that the supervisor would follow.

He didn’t.

He walked back up the stairs and let himself in my apartment (which I hadn’t had a chance to lock yet, as I was ‘playing asleep.’).

He came into my bedroom.

He whispered in my ear.

I pretended to still be asleep.

And I’m lucky that he thought I was asleep and decided to leave.

And I'm lucky that he thought I was asleep and decided to leave. #MeToo Click To Tweet

I’m one of the lucky ones.

But I was shaken. Visibly shaken. I called my friends and told them what happened and they were baffled.

One of them gossiped about it at work and told my coworker, Tracey. Tracey went to HR for me. I am so grateful for this gossip, because I don’t know if I would have had the courage to do so myself.

HR took swift action. They questioned me. So did the VP of the department. They made me feel safe.

But the rest of my coworkers lashed out at me. They didn’t understand why I would “try to get him in trouble.” All they saw was that *I* was doing this to *him*.

In the end, he was fired. He had to face his wife and make up some lie about how he got fired for throwing a beach ball at someone and they complained (no joke — this was his story for his [eventual] ex-wife).

But the backlash continued for me for a while. It made going into work — a place I considered to be fun and safe — a nightmare. The taunting, the verbal harassment, and the workplace discomfort was awful. I eventually transferred.

All of this is to say that my #MeToo story had a semi-happy ending with a not-as-traumatic beginning. Things could have gone way worse. But it’s still sickening that these stories are all too common. Heck, it’s likely happened to someone you know and gone unreported. Or maybe to you?

We need to continue to speak up. Certainly not all men are guilty of these crimes; but almost all women are the recipients of them. Because offenders are often repeat offenders. They use power and position to keep us quiet.

But I urge you to speak up. Speak up and speak out. Be loud. Tell your story. Heck, tell your stories — as uncomfortable as they may be. The only way to stop this is to bring attention to it as it’s happening.

Because I don’t want the next generation to be able to say #MeToo.

Because I don't want the next generation to be able to say #MeToo. Click To Tweet

Thank you for listening. xo ♥ ♥ ♥

For statistics on harassment see here. 

Filed Under: activisim, beliefs, feminism, health, life, Syracuse Tagged With: #MeToo, activism, beliefs, feminism, health, health and beauty, life, mental health, Syracuse

5 iPhone apps I’m loving right now.

February 5, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

A girl and her iPhone are never apart. Am I right!? As someone seeking balance, I try not to have too many unnecessary apps downloaded on my phone. Yep, I’m one of those nearly OCD people who clears out apps and keeps them in nice little “folders.” If only I was that organized with my physical things! Ha!

But really, it’s so simple to get lost in the neverending sea of apps. Here are my fave 5 apps right now!

    1. Podcasts. I can only listen to SO MUCH music. I find talk radio soothing. And I like my mind to be stimulated while I’m running or driving. We all have favorite podcasts. I, myself, have like 18 favorite podcasts. I suppose it’s a good thing I have a lot of running to do these days.
      podcasts

 

    1. Road ID. It leaves “e-crumbs” to keep you safe in outdoor runs. You’re able to set up notifications, or “e-crumbs,” to be sent to friends/family to keep them updated as to where you are. It has a stationary alert so that if you are stopped for 5 or more minutes, it sends out an alert to your friends. We have had several runner attacks in the last year and this app makes me feel so much better on my solo runs! But in general I prefer to run with a partner.
      roadID

 

    1. Life 360. At this point it may seem as if I’m obsessed with safety, but we recently had our home security system installed and it includes Life 360. In our area and climate, you can never be too safe. Sure, it’s a safe area; but what if you run off of a snowy road and don’t have access to your phone to call someone for help? Where that’s where Life360 comes in. It’s location-based and doesn’t require a subpoena or court order to find someone. And you can personalize alerts
      life360

 

    1. Plowz and Mowz. I found out about this app at random. But it is my newest saving grace. We are just so far south in Northeast Ohio that we don’t get the snowbelt snow, but we get some snow. (PS. This is totally weird to me. I grew up in an area that gets crazy amounts of snow; and I went to school in Buffalo & Syracuse, which get crazy amounts of snow. When I lived in New York, I always had someone to plow my driveway every day. Every.DAY. That’s crazy! I’m so happy to live in a place that gets less snow… but still a significant amount. So just a couple of times this year we have “ordered” we have been satisfied with our driveway clearing services! 🙂PS. Here’s a $20 off code for your first plow — use code Y5H515 to get $20 off! That’s right – our first plow was only $10! TWENTY DOLLARS OFF!
      plowz

 

    1. Camera. Simple, easy, and my way of documenting life. Yeah, I post a LOT of personal stuff on Instagram, Twitter, and FB. But honestly? I take a LOT of photos on my phone. And video, for that matter. Moosh is always doing something cute and I’m always trying to document it.
      iphone camera

 

That’s it. It’s simple. Well, kind of. We all know there are photo apps and whatnot. And obvy GMail runs my life. But these apps? THESE are what run my life. 🙂

Filed Under: bloggers, goodies, life, Ohio, review, running, social media, Syracuse, Twitter Tagged With: bloggers, life, links, New York, ohio, review, running, social media, Syracuse, twitter

Primary Sidebar

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Blog Archives

Grab the Button

It's a Hero

Recent Posts

  • Easy Reuben Sliders Recipe
  • New Years Eve Charcuterie Board
  • Kids New Years Eve Charcuterie
  • Easy Christmas Charcuterie Board
  • Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
  • Mason Jar Pancake Mix
  • Air Fryer Tornado Potatoes
  • Easy Garlic Herb Butter Recipe
  • Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
  • Copycat Crumbl Chocolate Chunk Cookie
Collaborate with Rachel Loza on influencer marketing
dealspotr.com
Follow