A brief story: when I was in middle school, I played french horn. I was the only girl in the entire brass section. The boys around me kept up a sustained campaign of sexual harassment for three years that led me to quit band, and give up an instrument I loved. https://twitter.com/ryangrim/status/1296578800130633729

Even now, thinking about how those boys treated me, my pulse quickens and I feel nauseated. Middle school is awful for everyone, but they truly made my life hell. The person who was just elected circulated revenge porn of a fellow 13 year old, on top of the harassment.

If, when I was 19, I learned that one of the boys who had treated me so horribly was about to become an elected official, I would have been horrified. For those girls, that campaign of fear and intimidation is still relatively fresh. If he is truly repentant, that's one thing.

Based on the stories I've read of this situation, I don't know if he understands the magnitude of what he did. I hope he does. I hope he reaches out to those girls and apologizes from the heart.

In the grand scheme, having to give up the french horn seems like a small thing. But it truly hurt. I hope these girls are able to move forward, hopefully with an apology from the candidate.