Lifestyle: In Practice

by María Del Mal  The first time I said it, it was quiet, a soft plea on my lips, “Stop, I want to stop.” He chuckled. He leaned back down kissing my neck and I pressed my hands against his shoulders, “No, I’m serious, stop.”  “Come on,” he sighed. “Don’t be a tease.” I remember freezing, my brain splitting with the decision to stay and play it safe or run, trying to find my best chance at survival. I remember when he shoved his tongue down my throat, my protests died betw

I don’t write about a singular wound—I write about a thousand paper cuts that never healed. My stories aren’t just art, they’re survival. I write as rebellion, as therapy, as proof that I’ve lived through every heartbreak, identity crisis, and invisible moment. Writing is where I get to be soft, angry, Dominican, and divine—all at once.