Why Lips Web series gave me a new outlook?

Disclaimer: This blog post can get emotional, but I hope it can help some people if they have been through the same.

I can be the first to admit that I have never really watched web series on youtube because I have a short intention span when it comes to youtube, I usually watch music videos then switch and click to the next one. Then one day a good friend of ours at Rawrr X-YLE talked to me about a web-series he was partaking in as an actor and I thought why not let me check it out. I must say for the first time in my life there was a program that changed my life.

The Web series nominated for six awards in the Urban Web Series awards so you must make sure you go vote for it.

The Lips (Love Inside Prevails) is a web series that reflects on the life of Farah (Nikki Owens), Willy (Malachai Rivers) , and their daughter Melissa (Brittany Angelica Chance). When Willy gets involved in a certain situation it comes back to haunt his family causing one of the main characters Melissa to be raped and it describes Melissa's journey through out the web series and how she deals with her trauma as well as her view of love. After quite a few hours of binge watching all episodes which were 20 minutes to 30 minutes each, there was a final message that was put from the creator of the show in which she described the show as a way for her to tell her story.

Without getting into the details of the video and maintain the respect of her privacy she discusses how this was an outlet to help her especially when she wanted to scream when everything happened, and certain scenes were from her life story, while the rest of the show were instances she wish had happened as opposed to what happened in real life. Things she wished that would happen. I cant say what because then I would be including spoilers and people hate spoilers. As a victim of rape, I sympathized to the max, as much as I loved my father he made some mistakes in his past and following to learn some of the mistakes and the issues I ran into a person that changed me in the worst way. After being raped on my 17th birthday I was forced to learn on my own how to deal with life; and for ten years I had thought I was the one at fault for what happened. That everything that happened to me after was due to a false sense of love. That no one ever loved me, that I would always be alone and I have isolated people because of it and ruined relationships that were beneficial to me while getting into relationships that hurt me. I was diagnosed with both PTSD and Depression due to what had happened on that erie night on June 9th. Getting into photography and meeting people later on that became my best friends as well as later on working at WVMR I learned my purpose in life and started working to better myself and get my life together.

Watching the web series and listening to what the author said it really resonated with me because so many women do not have the opportunity to talk about their experience. They are told to keep quiet, not to let the rest of your family know until its too late. Even if you report it to the police they sometimes get the slap on the wrist, or your just too scared to pull the trigger. Or they tell you the right thing is to not press charges because you would be ruining someones life. I regret not pressing charges years ago, but seeing this come to life in a way it made me realize im not at fault that so many females are not at fault for what they go through. So many voices need to honestly be heard and not many females get a chance to speak up. Watching this show makes you realize you are not alone, there are people fighting through this just like you , and your not ugly, your not broken don't be afraid to open up and look for help.

To the creator of Lips I want to thank you for giving the opportunity for the world to watch this series honestly after crying and realizing I was not alone with this was the best gift ever. I would love to one day meet you and honestly thank you in person for this, its more than a web-series its a lesson for women everywhere. I am probably going to get people angry for writing this blog but its fine. Thank you for telling us your story, you don't know me but I want you to know you are the strongest and bravest person I ever met in my life. Thank you! If you ever see this please contact me I would love to speak to you.

Follow them on instagram @lips_webseries

Subscribe to them on youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxtn1ksPcuziac8i3nvjMTA