Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Thanks for Coming, or not.

I've been reading this fantastic book recently to pass the time on my commutes to and from work and college, and I want to share what I have learned with whoever happens to read this measly blog.
In 2009, Mara Altman released
Thanks For Coming, the funny, touching story of her quest for an orgasm. Despite having her share of notches in the bedpost, Mara had never reached climax in bed, and so she decided to share her journey through sex shows, conventions, even therapy to find what all the fuss was about. I stumbled across the book a couple of months ago in Borders while I was looking for a copy of the Kama Sutra, and after I found what I was looking for, I picked it up out of curiosity. I was in between books and thought it sounded interesting and somewhat relevant to my situation at the time, so I took my finds to the counter, and the man serving me gave me a look that could pass for "Hey baby, what are you up to tonight?" or "Oh, you're one of those girls," and fortunately/unfortunately his comment about enjoying the rest of my night as I turned to leave implied the former assessment to be true. He was creepy and I was afraid he'd ask exactly how I would be spending the rest of that night, but at least he didn't think I was a whore. Or maybe he did, and that's why he asked, but I choose to believe that's not true, that he was just being polite.
Since losing my virginity in February, I have noticed a drastic change in my beliefs of and attitudes towards sex. I've never been terribly prudish when it comes to my sexuality, and I don't remember ever having much of an aversion to talking openly about the issue with anyone if it came up in conversation. In fact, the morning after my first time, I straight up told my mother about it when she came to pick me up from the train after school. I told my dad later that night, which was more difficult because I couldn't gauge how he would react, but he took it well. They both were just happy that I waited until I was comfortable and felt safe, though I'm sure they would have much rather I'd waited until I was with someone I loved, or was at least in a relationship with. Fuck buddy is a relationship of sorts... right? So it wasn't the best decision I'd ever made! Shit, I'm only human. Besides, I'm going through a period of self-discovery right now, and if I have a little fun at the same time... Well, that's just a little extra icing on the cake.
Anyway, the point of this post was to explain that, for a long time now, I have been meaning to write something seriously. Whether it be a novel, non-fiction or fiction, I hadn't yet decided, but I wanted to produce something I could at least submit for publishing. At this point I don't even care if it does get published, just that I can see something through to the end, unlike my previous attempts at writing, which lay in dusty notebooks on the shelves and overlooked files on my hard-drive.
Thanks for Coming has inspired me to write an account of how ridiculously sex has changed my life. It's not even funny anymore, it's pathetic. I want to document my transformation from your average teenage girl into this pathetic, nymphomaniac of a girl in the course of about two months. In this time I have been intimate with two men, the first to whom I willingly gave up my virginity and the second who led me on, teased and is now ignoring me. Because I am trying not to be bitter about how they have both treated me, their names will be changed, but they know who they are.
I will share what I can here in installments, because even if I never get any of this published, I want the information to be out in the open for any other girl who has been affected in a similar way to find and know she is not alone. I know they are out there, I have spoken to one in particular who has gone though a similar change, so I know my time won't be wasted. And even if no ones reads this, at least I can get the whole fucking thing off my chest.