Can you share a lesson that you learned later in life and how it has impacted your current lifestyle, mentality, or attitude?

It drained me, messed with my peace, and cluttered my mind with unnecessary stress.

I am thankful to my profession & how I started from scratch that I was able to become so blunt & straight forward.

Many people especially girls will be able to connect with this answer.

Why are so many people anti-Trump? People didn't like Obama either, but he was the president, so people didn't do this. What makes Trump different?

It’s very settling.

Whether it was a friend asking for a favor, an invitation I didn’t feel like accepting, or even a stranger requesting my time, I hesitated to say no

Everytime I said yes when I wanted to say no, I paid the price.

Why do I randomly start sweating a lot in public (while waiting in line, in a new class, etc.) then start sweating more because I’m embarrassed that I’m sweating so much? Is this social anxiety?

It’s very freeing.

It has been an easy life.

I always felt obligated to be polite, to be accommodating, to be the “nice” person because the dictionary of ‘good girl’ means they should be accommodating according to the society.

Is it safe to say that China is at least 30 years ahead of India?

It’s very freeing.

-Smita Mishra

No meant she is being rebellious.

Can I see some anal hole?

It’s very refreshing.

But here’s the hard truth I learned much later in life.

I lost a lot of money trying to fit in. I don’t like expensive English meals at fancy restaurants. But my friends did. I couldn’t say No thinking I would be judged. But I love ‘Desi food’. I didn’t enjoy the food, & I ended up paying huge split bills so many times

Why do so many men wait until they are retired or close to it to start having sex with Men? Most of them say they have always wanted to suck dick or be fucked. Why did you wait?

I have ruined my sleep & rest hours with nonsense calls from nonsense people. No matter what the time, I have picked up their calls & listened to their rant for hours. I could not be blunt saying, ‘no am not interested in talking’

I lost a lot of my time to help, keeping my needs aside & the favour was never returned because most people took my time for granted & I also hesitated to ask for help

I couldn’t say No to strangers talking & invading my personal life. It made me uncomfortable but somehow I entertained forcibly. This made me realize that I was an easy target for them. They thought of me as an easy prey. This always ended up hurting me because I knew there should be a boundary set , yet I couldn’t set it as I was just a naive small town girl

What would explain Trump blaming Ukraine for starting the war with Russia?

I was always that one eager person to help someone in need without realising the consequences it might have. I have helped people from Quora & other places during the time when I had nothing on me. I couldn’t say No when a man manipulated me into giving him a huge amount for his daughters education during Covid. I later got fed up asking him to return. He returned after two years. His wife was a working lady at a good corporate place. He lied to me as he wanted money for his alcohol addiction

But my mind wouldn’t let go of it.

I would spend hours, sometimes days, replaying the decision in my head, regretting my response, wishing I had been honest.

What is your first experience having sex with older men?

This is how I paid for not being able to say NO.

No is a complete sentence & it should not be just used for CONSENT for sex.

I used to be the kind of person who found it incredibly hard to say no. I would keep people’s feelings above mine.

For an unpublished short story writer, what magazines or online publications offer the best chance of being recognized?