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Almost exactly two years ago, #MeToo went mainstream. Started by activist and community organizer Tarana Burke in 2006, the movement went viral in 2017 when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted the now powerful hashtag, in response to the reports of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein. She wrote, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted, write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” 

In the two years since, many people have come forward to share their stories of sexual assault — but few of the accused perpetrators have served jail time. Even though people may be discussing rape more openly and sensitively now than they did two years ago, the fact still remains that, according to RAINN, for every 1,000 sexual assaults, 995 perpetrators will face no jail time. And in 2019, rape culture is alive and well. 

But what is “rape culture,” exactly? The term has been used by feminists since the ‘70s, when it was coined to describe a culture that normalizes and trivializes rape and sexual assault — our culture. People of all genders are effected by rape culture, and people of all genders can perpetuate it: just look at U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos working to roll back Title IX protections for survivors of campus sexual assault.

Here are just a few examples of rape culture at work in the past year.

Rape culture is rape memes and jokes on social media.

This July, news broke that Border Patrol agents had made violent rape memes and threats against members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in a secret Facebook group. According to ProPublica, the almost-10,000-member group circulated photoshopped memes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being raped and made violent threats against her and Rep. Veronica Escobar. 

Rape culture tells male survivors they “can’t” be assaulted.

In 2017, Terry Crews came forward to say that he had been sexually assaulted by a Hollywood executive. Two years later, people are still questioning his account. “God gave you muscles so you can say NO and mean it!” comedian D.L. Hughley said in a video that went viral in January 2019. “Sir you said I should have pushed him back, or restrained him and I DID ALL THOSE THINGS, but you act like i didn’t…were you there?” responded Crews.

Rape culture calls sexual assault “harmless fun.”

To promote an article revealing a new sexual assault accusation against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the New York Times tweeted, “Having a penis thrust in your face at a drunken dorm party may seem like harmless fun. But when Brett Kavanaugh did it to her, Deborah Ramirez says, it confirmed that she didn’t belong at Yale in the first place.” After critical responses, the Times apologized and deleted the offensive tweet. 

Rape culture is hateful online comments.

In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Chanel Miller — whose sexual assault trial against “Stanford swimmer” Brock Turner made international headlines in 2016 — shared that she felt ashamed not because of the assault itself, but because of the online comments criticizing her. “Initially, I didn’t feel shame,” she said. “It seemed very clear to me that if someone attacks you and runs away, that’s his problem. The shame was learned over time, from the online comments.”

Rape culture is victim-blaming.

In March 2019, Neomi Rao was sworn in to Brett Kavanaugh’s former seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She gained criticism for past comments blaming rape survivors for their assaults, such as, “A man who rapes a drunk girl should be prosecuted. At the same time, a good way to avoid a potential date rape is to stay reasonably sober… And if she drinks to the point where she can no longer choose, well, getting to that point was part of her choice.”

These are just a handful of examples of rape culture — give it a few minutes and you can probably think of dozens more. While #MeToo has brought new awareness to sexual assault, there’s still so much work to be done.

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Welcome to Money Diaries, where we’re tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We’re asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last dollar.

Today: a Client Solution Specialist working in Healthcare who makes $80,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on fake nails.

Occupation: Client Solution Specialist
Industry: Healthcare
Age: 30
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Salary: $80,000
Paycheck Amount (Biweekly): $2,061.05 (post-tax/deductions)
Gender Identity: Woman

Monthly Expenses
Mortgage: $781.50 (I bought my two bed one bath condo back in July of 2015 and live by myself)
Student Loans: $0 (I paid off my student loans in December of 2018 — I had $40,000 of debt from my undergrad)
Car Lease: $285.66
Spotify: $10.74
Electricity: $20-$40 depending on the month
Phone: $0 (thanks Dad!)
Hulu: $0 (included in the phone plan) HBO: $0 (thanks friends parents!)
Netflix: $0 (thanks other friend’s parents!) Amazon Prime: $0 (thanks Mom!)
Car Insurance: $600 for six months (I pay a lump sum to get a discount)
Credit Card Fee (paid annually): $95
Savings: I just started a savings account in January of this year because prior to that I was throwing what I could at my student loans to pay them off. I put away a minimum of $1,000 a month. I also put my whole tax return from this year into savings as well. I currently have around $20,000.
401(k): $153.85/ paycheck (My company matches up to 5% so that is what I put in. I currently have around $66,000.)
HSA: I put away $500 a year ($19.24/paycheck) and my company matches that. This is my first line of defense anytime I have a medical expense.
Health Insurance: $37.90/paycheck
Dental: $5.15/paycheck

Day One

8:15 a.m. — I get up late as usual and hop in the shower as today is a hair washing day. I do my makeup routine of color corrector, bb cream, concealer, powder, blush, eyebrows, and mascara. I decide on curly/wavy hair for the week and style it as such. I try to only wash my hair one to two times a week since it’s better for it and saves time in styling. For reference, I have an above-the-shoulder angled bob with blunt bangs — think Russian spy-style. I pick out an outfit and I’m out the door by 9:30.

9:45 a.m. — I get into work, make an office coffee, and settle in for the day checking emails and creating my to do list for the week. We are currently in our off season so we are able to get in and leave whenever we like (within reason!). This all changes once we get into our busy season when I typically will get in at 9 and stay until at least 6, typically 7, and work through lunch as well.

11:45 a.m. — Once my 11 a.m. meeting ends, some coworkers and I leave to go to lunch at an Asian restaurant for a coworker that is leaving us this week. I get the veggie chow fun dish with oyster sauce (with tip, $16). $16

12:55 p.m. — Back at work and back to reading literature to prepare myself for our upcoming season. I also take a break in the afternoon to pay all of my bills for the month of October (mortgage, HOA, car lease, xcel energy, and two credit cards that I use for all of my spending to rack up those rewards!).

5:45 p.m. — I leave work and stop at Whole Foods on my way home to pick up some miscellaneous items like paleo puffs, lentil chips, a pack of microwaveable basmati rice, a box of instant mashed potatoes, a muffin, three kombuchas, an instant Thai noodle bowl, non-dairy maple oat pecan creamer, non-dairy gouda cheese, and Oatly non-dairy ice cream. $40.16

7 p.m. — I get home and turn on my TV so as to not miss any of the fall TV show premieres. With that on in the background, I take pictures of my outfit for my OOTD Instagram, change into comfies, make sure my cat’s litter is clean and his water and food dispensers are good, and make a Trader Joe’s frozen shakshuka meal with some cheesy potato pancakes. I then spend the rest of the night watching 911, Prodigal Son, The Good Doctor, The Terror Infamy, and some YouTube while messing around on my phone. I also indulge in some of the ice cream that I bought earlier with a stroopwafel my parents brought back from Amsterdam.

1 a.m. — Wash my face, apply my eye cream and vitamin C serum, and fall asleep around 1:15.

Daily Total: $56.16

Day Two

8 a.m. — Up and getting ready for the day. Same makeup as before, and I touch up my hair as the waves from the prior day kept pretty well. I pick out an outfit and I’m out the door by 9:10.

9:25 a.m. — I get to work and make my typical office coffee. I’m not ever hungry in the morning since my body is so used to intermittent fasting so you won’t see me eating breakfast. Typically I don’t get hungry/eat until 12 or later during the work week. I check emails and submit some tickets for my clients to prepare for the upcoming season.

12 p.m. — I start to get hungry so I creep on my DoorDash app to see what I can order. I have DashPass this month, which makes delivery free for most places on orders over $12. I order a salmon avocado salad from a local salad place and get a side of hash browns to up my order to get the free delivery (the salad was $11.99, wah wah). I also have an existing credit on my account so I end up only paying $7.42. $7.42

4 p.m. — The rest of the afternoon flies by and next thing I know we’re all leaving to go to a happy hour for a coworker that’s leaving (same one that we did lunch for on Monday). We go to a local sports bar and I have two glasses of Prosecco and nom on some of the apps that were ordered for the group (with tip, $18). $18

6:45 p.m. — I say bye to my coworkers because I have to run some errands in the vicinity. I stop at Walmart and pick up two new lip products, face powder, bb cream, makeup wipes, cotton rounds, q tips, witch hazel, a pack of fake nails, paper towels, and two bags of chocolate that I plan to bring to work for our communal candy dish ($79.18). I then head to CVS to check out their fake nail selection (I like to change my nails weekly) and end up getting two packs for $19.33. Lastly, I swing by Walgreens to check out their fake nails and strike out. $98.51

8 p.m. — I get home and turn on my TV since fall premiere week is still going! With that on, I take my outfit picture, change into comfies, clean up some fun puke piles my cat left me along with his litter box, and check his food and water dispensers. I then settle in on the couch to watch my shows — This is Us, New Amsterdam, Dating No Filter, and Ghosted. I don’t end up eating anything for dinner since HH filled me up.

12 a.m. — I spend some time doing extractions on my face because I have a picking problem? JK, my mom used to be an esthetician and taught me all the right ways to extract to prevent your pores from getting impacted and growing larger. I used to have acne when I was younger and I have noticed that when I extract one to two times a week my skin plays nice. I make sure to apply my acne vitamin C serum after the fact to help with redness and healing.

1:30 a.m. — Finally head to bed after having a mini freak out over a spider chilling on the wall behind my bed. I use my cat as the ultimate killing machine in situations like this.

Daily Total: $123.93

Day Three

7:10 a.m. — I wake up to the sound of my cat puking, hoping that it’s not on the only rug that I have in my condo (it’s not this time!). I clean it up and head back to bed because this is much too early for me to be up, #nightowllyfe.

7:55 a.m. — I actually wake up and start getting ready for the day. Same makeup and hair as yesterday (little dry shampoo help today though). Pick out an outfit and I’m out the door by 9:15.

9:30 a.m. — You know the drill by now, I get to work and make my coffee. I also snag a blueberry muffin for later as we get free bagels and pastries every Wednesday. I check my emails and talk to some coworkers. I have a team meeting with my boss and coworker at 11 to go over some projects that we can work on leading up to our busy season.

1 p.m. — Last going away lunch for my coworker that is leaving (today is their last day!). We head to a Thai restaurant that has good food, but super slow service! I get ginger shrimp with veggies and a side of rice and a Thai iced tea. $23

2:45 p.m. — We get back to the office (told you the service was slow!) and I carry on with reading more literature and working on some of the projects that we had discussed in our earlier meeting. Later on I say final goodbyes to my coworker that is leaving. She is such a sweetheart and actually baked and packaged cookies that she gave to everyone in the office. I’m going to miss her!

5:55 p.m. — I finally leave work and head to the nearby mall to return some items I purchased online at Express (refund of $221 on my credit card). I also shop a little while there, but don’t find anything that catches my eye. After I’m done, I head over to a restaurant near my home that my friend, L., wanted to try and our other friend, S., meets us there as well. We decide that we want to try a little bit of everything this place is known for so we get a chicken sandwich, burger, panzanella salad, and elote corn along with a bottle of Pinot Grigio and a cocktail each. I pay and my friends Venmo me their equal shares, $53.33 for my share including tip. $53.33

10 p.m. — We finally part ways after eating, drinking, and talking the night away. Once home I do my typical routine — take outfit pic, change into comfies, take care of cat litter/food/water, and also do my face routine as well. I then settle into the couch to watch an episode of The Challenge and head to bed around 12:55.

Daily Total: $76.33

Day Four

8:10 a.m. — Up and at them. Same routine as always. Leave for work by 9:20.

9:35 a.m. — At my desk with my office coffee checking my emails. At 11, our team has a meeting with another team to continue ironing things out for the upcoming season.

12:45 p.m. — I start to get hungry so I go on DoorDash to find something to eat. I end up trying a new Tibetan cuisine restaurant where I get a cup of sweet corn soup and a veggie potato bean noodle entrée with a side of rice. $14.24

4 p.m. — I get a little peckish, so I eat the blueberry muffin that I snagged yesterday and continue plugging away at some work.

5:50 p.m. — I leave work and head home. I do the normal outfit pic, cat litter/food/water, watch some YouTube, and touch up my hair and makeup before heading out to a nearby restaurant to get drinks with K. at 7. I dated K. for six-ish months back in 2013 (we were never official) before he slow ghosted out of my life. I saw him this past Saturday at a bar and he asked if I would get drinks with him to catch up (after much apologizing on his part). We end up talking for around two and a half hours and I have two Moscow mules during that time (he pays since he stated that he owes me for how he ended things and who am I to argue with free drinks).

9:30 p.m. — Home again and I decide to wash my face sooner than later. I then settle in on the couch to watch Jersey Shore Family Vacation and Ex on the Beach while eating the cookies my coworker gave me yesterday for dinner (#adulting) before heading to bed at 12:40.

Daily Total: $14.24

Day Five

9:20 a.m. — Up and logged on to my computer as I am working from home today — I love Fridays! I check my emails and reply to some items before making myself a Chai latte. I settle into the couch to work with YouTube videos playing in the background.

12 p.m. — I start to get hungry so I make myself a mashed potato bowl with scrambled eggs and cheese (don’t knock it till you try it!). Later, I make a cup of tea and have half of a pranik (a Russian pastry my parents brought back from their recent trip).

4 p.m. — I take a break to get ready for happy hour later. I also deal with cat litter/food/water and do the dishes. My mom calls while I am doing all of this and we chat/catch up. She likes to call me sometimes on her way home from work.

5:45 p.m. — I log off for the day, get dressed, and head out to a restaurant nearby that my friend B. is playing an acoustic set at tonight. I meet my friends M. and S. there. We sit at the bar and get three glasses of wine each and bruschetta to split (gotta get those happy hour prices!). M. covers and we Venmo her our shares ($20). We then move to a table that opened up in the bar area since our friend is still playing and we want to support him (and want dinner as well!) We get a seasonal salad, salmon sandwich, and truffle fries to share. We also find out it’s half-off bottles of wine, so we get two bottles throughout the night. I end up paying and my friends Venmo me their equal shares ($40 for my share). $60

10 p.m. — M. gets us an Uber back to her place because we want to keep the party going. I leave my car at the restaurant and will get it tomorrow morning. Once at M.’s house we find and drink another bottle of wine (oops?) and decide to head out to a bar for karaoke. We meet our other friend L. at the bar and I proceed to buy a vodka soda with a splash of grenadine (with tip, $6.19). $6.19

1:35 a.m. — Back at M.’s house and definitely taking advantage of her guest room so I don’t have to Uber back home tonight! I’m le tired.

Daily Total: $66.19

Day Six

7 a.m. — Why am I up? UGH. Since I am though, I decide to bite the bullet and get an Uber to the restaurant that I left my car at ($13.79). Once I get my car, I drive home and proceed to fall back asleep again (brunch is so not happening today!) $13.79

12:15 p.m. — I’m up and hurting. Why you do this to me wine?! I proceed to creep on my phone a bit and text with some friends about plans for today. It’s S.’s birthday and we are doing a brewery crawl! I get ready and head out around 2:30.

3 p.m. — I meet S., our friend N., and S.’s parents at the first stop, a cidery, and get a cider (with tip, $9). $9

4 p.m. — We then mosey over to another brewery down the street where our friend, D., meets us. I get two fruity sours for S. and me (with tip, $18). N. buys us a round of fresh pretzels and cheese sauce from a food truck outside and I buy an additional cheese sauce later when we run out because cheese is life ($1). We also play a round of hammerschlagen cause why not? $19

5:30 p.m. — We decide to head out to a bigger brewery/food hall for more drinks and dinner. I drive myself and D. over while everyone else bikes. When we get there, we put our name down for a table in the food hall (over an hour wait) and proceed to find another table outside in the meantime. D. orders some apps/food to start since it will be a while before we get the table inside. By now, the rest of the crew shows up, and S.’s dad gets us a round of drinks, I get a rosé lager.

6 p.m. — They lied and the table is ready now! So we scarf the food that has already come out (curry cauliflower and meatballs) and carry the two pizzas to the new table. Once seated, we proceed to order more drinks (I get a white wine inspired lager and later an orange mango lager) and more food — harissa broccoli, Thai lime Brussels sprouts, french fries, potato perogies, and bison charcuterie. S.’s dad is an angel and wants to treat S. and her friends for her birthday so he covers the bill. Parents are the best!

10 p.m. — After all the eating, drinking, and talking we decide to take it back to S.’s place. I drive myself and M. back since the rest of them are biking back. D. bows out early and Ubers home.

10:15 p.m. — Just as I’m finishing up a U-turn to get into a parking spot on the other side of the street, a guy blows through a stop sign and rounds the corner in the craziest way, stopping right in front of my car. He yells obscene things before driving further down the street, stopping his car in the middle and blocking a city bus. I finish parking my car and get out the way. As M. and I start walking to S.’s place, the guy comes through again and at this point, we’re convinced that he is under the influence of something. He then drives down a pedestrian walkway of the nearby school and proceeds to ram his car between the building and support beam causing damage to the car and building, and then peels out and ends up sideswiping a parked car. We’re finally able to get his license plate, and I call 911 and report him. M. also leaves a note on the car that got sideswiped so they don’t have to wonder what happened.

10:45 p.m. — Finally at S.’s place, we are retelling the crazy story of what just happened when I get a call back from the cops, they have a suspect and want us to ID him! My friend M. and I get picked up by the cops, driven six blocks to where the suspect was found, and step out one by one to ID him (not the guy!). The cops then take us back to S.’s place. We might not have gotten the guy but at least the car is off of the streets (he crashed it and ran and that’s when the cops found it). We then proceed to talk about this crazy event and decompress for a bit while watching Drunk History videos.

12:30 a.m. — We decide to call it a night, and I give M. a ride back home before driving home myself. Once home, I deal with cat litter/food/water, do more extractions because stress relief, and try to calm myself down from this crazy night. I am asleep by 3:15.

Daily Total: $41.79

Day Seven

1:25 p.m. — Slept in, oops, I deserved it! I am so tuckered out after this week and plan to do absolutely nothing today (my inner introvert is crying as I typically don’t do this much during the week AND the weekend). I have lots of shows to catch up on so I do just that. I watch The Resident, Single Parents, and A Million Little Things before I start to get hungry and creep on DoorDash for something to order.

5:15 p.m. — My DoorDash order from a local Italian place gets delivered and I got a Caprese salad, pasta, and pumpkin cheesecake ($49.98). I tell myself this is okay since I didn’t have to pay for much yesterday. I eat and proceed to veg out on the couch watching How To Get Away With Murder, Evil, AHS 1984, All Rise, The Rookie, and Emergence. $49.98

12:05 a.m. — This week/weekend was the most and I pass out immediately after washing my face.

Daily Total: $49.98

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Welcome to Travel Diaries, a Refinery29 series where we tag along as real women embark on trips around the world and track their travel expenses down to the last cent. Here, we offer a detailed, intimate account of when, where, and how our peers spend their vacation days and disposable income: all the meals, adventures, indulgences, setbacks, and surprises.

This week’s travel diary: A 23-year-old administrative assistant hits up Portland, ME on her way to Acadia National Park with girlfriends. 

For questions, feedback, or if you’re interested in tracking your travel expenses during an upcoming trip email us at traveldiary@refinery29.com.

Age: 23
Occupation: Administrative Assistant at a Nonprofit
Salary: $27,500
Travel Companions: I went with 5 of my closest friends: R, N, L, A, and T. 

Hometown: Chattanooga, TN
Trip Location: Acadia National Park, ME
Trip Length: 5 days
Annual # Of Vacation Days: 10 days

Transportation 
Costs: We found a late-night flight from Atlanta to Boston with Delta on a Friday night ($88.91 plus travel insurance for $22.75, so $111.66) and then a cheaper flight back to ATL on Tuesday evening with Spirit ($58.29 plus $32.00 for a checked bag, for a total of $90.29). We also rented a minivan because it was probably the only vehicle that could fit in 6 girls and our luggage and our camping gear. The rental car was $114.16 each, for 6 people.

Total: $316.11

Accommodations
Costs:  We wanted to camp in Acadia National Park, so I booked a campsite at Blackwoods Campground for two nights. Each night was $30, so we only had to pay $10 each. We also had to sleep somewhere after we landed in Boston and we wanted to spend a night in Portland. So half the trip was pretty cheap camping, and the other half needed some meticulous research on cheap but cute Airbnb’s. We booked a hotel in the Hilton group maybe 20 miles north of the BOS airport for $24.42 each. And then I found a pretty cute lake house using VRBO, which was slightly pricier: $70.90 each for one night.

Total: $105.32

Miscellaneous pre-vacation spending
– new battery charger for my camera: $27.65
– one new workout shirt (not necessary but I wanted a new one to hike in!): $12.95
– National Parks Annual Parks Pass: $79.99 (But I split it with A, so it as $40 each)

Total: $80.60

Miscellaneous post-vacation spending:
– $50 to my friend, L, to help pay for the hotel she booked when she got sick and that we used instead when she decided to leave early. (See below for the craziness of this trip.)

Total: $50

Day One 

6:45 a.m. – I wake up for my day at work and it is a good morning because it’s Friday and I am about to leave for Maine and my favorite band just released a new single! I already packed my clothes and camping gear the night before, so I get ready quickly and buy breakfast on the way. I text my two closest work friends if they want anything, and H takes me up on it. I get an iced chai latte and two breakfast sandwiches and pay ($19.26). I was going to treat H to the breakfast but she Venmoed me $6 dollars anyway. Rude. $13.26.

1:15 p.m. – Work is somewhat slow today, and my to-do list is getting pretty light. I will the time to go by faster and for work to be busy. I take my hour lunch break, but I don’t eat anything because that breakfast sandwich filled me up.

4:30 p.m – The workday is over! Everyone is meeting at my apartment, so I try and drive there as fast as I can since a lot of them are already there. But of course, traffic through downtown is backed up so I don’t make it home until past five. I’m the last one to arrive, so I run to my room to pack last-minute stuff (AKA phone charger, contact solution, etc.) and bring my bags to the car. And we are off! We have to drive about two hours to Atlanta and brace ourselves for rush hour traffic.

7:45 p.m. – Traffic was surprisingly not terrible, and we head straight to the car park company where we will drop off our car for the trip, and get shuttled to the airport. A pays for parking and I Venmo her my share. $5.66

8:30 p.m. – We’ve checked our bags. R and I split the cost for the camping gear bag ($15) and we get past security, but our plane doesn’t board for another hour. We start looking for dinner options in our terminal. For how big and beautiful the international terminal is in Atlanta, the domestic terminal doesn’t actually have a ton of options. But they have a T.G.I Fridays and it ~is a Friday~ so we spend most of our waiting time in the airport restaurant. I order chicken fingers and lemonade ($13.54 with tip). $28.54

10:20 p.m. – We are finally in the air and it feels like the trip is finally beginning! I spend the two-and-half-hour flight watching a random movie and eating the snacks and cran-apple juice that the flight attendant hands out.

Daily Total: $47.46

Day Two 

3:30 a.m. – We are still in the airport, waiting to get our rental car. Because we landed in Boston just after 1:00 a.m. and only two rental car companies are still open, there is a huge line. When we finally get to the front of the line, our reserved minivan was given away to someone else?! But as we are about to get in the Tahoe that they give to us instead, a manager on the floor says there is a van available, they just had to clean it. Which is cool, but still a little confused as to why they gave away our reserved van in the first place? Nevertheless, we get our swaggin’ wagon, and can now go to the hotel! I am a girl who values her sleep, so I am very excited to get to bed. 

9:30 a.m. – Even though we wanted to sleep in until noon, we all wake up early enough to catch the complimentary breakfast before it closes. It has the typical offerings, but I will never say no to one of those waffle-maker stations. We get ready to drive into Maine and spend the day exploring Portland.

11:15 a.m. – We finally get into Maine! The traffic is crazy, but understandable since it is a beautiful weekend and we are on the only highway to drive north into Maine. We have to pay at a few tolls but I don’t have cash so I don’t remember how many there were or who paid. We stop at the rest area and welcome center to stretch our legs, only to get back in the car for some more traffic all the way up into Portland.

2:00 p.m. – We arrive in Portland! It’s such a cool city, and the weather is so beautiful along the water. It takes a while to find parking since we’re trying not to pay, but that seems near impossible, so we just find an open spot in a parking lot. It is $7 an hour, so we put it in for three hours. I use my card and my friends pay me back. $3.50

3:30 p.m. – Obviously the first thing we want to do in Portland is try a lobster roll. I researched places in advance, so we go to the Portland Lobster Co. because it looks cool and has outside seating. The line is very long, so it takes about an hour to get the food and a table. And I’m gonna be honest, it’s a little overrated (my cousin, who lived in Maine for college, later told me that this place doesn’t add mayo, which is integral to a good lobster roll. So I promise to give it a second try at some point on this trip. (Also, why didn’t I just ask her for a recommendation beforehand?) We put it all on one ticket, so I just Venmo N $ for the meal. – $20.00

4:45 p.m. – We spend the rest of the time walking around Portland and looking in stores. It is such a cool city and I can really see myself living here, to be honest. (I’m always scouting fun places to move to if the opportunity arises). I would love to spend more time downtown, but our meter is almost up. On the way to the car though, I make sure to stop by Mt. Desert Ice Cream because ice cream is my true love and I made a vow to get as much as I can on this trip. $5.13

5:30 p.m. – We drive over to the Portland Head Light, which is 100 percent worth it!! I pay $4 for a parking spot and then spend the next hour scrambling down the rocks on the coast and taking cute pictures by the lighthouse. $4.00

7:00 p.m. – On our way to the lake house, we stop at Trader Joe’s (my love for Trader Joe’s is so grand that I researched the Portland location ahead of time and basically forced my friends to stop there for snacks.) We buy some frozen pizzas and wine and eat them at the lake house. I buy my own bottle of wine and some other snacks (peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, anyone?) ($14.54). A paid for all the pizzas and then we Venmo her our share ($3.16 each).  $17.70

11:15 p.m. – Okay, this house is really nice! It’s very rustic (think log cabin), and there is a deck that overlooks the water and a lower dock with two kayaks. We take turns paddling while the pizza heats in the oven and we spend the rest of the night drinking wine by a fire. I accidentally drink my whole bottle of wine, but hey, we can’t take it with us to the campsite, so waste not. 

Daily Total: $50.33

Day Three 

7:00 a.m. – It wasn’t the greatest night of sleep, because my bed is technically in the living room and people kept moving around throughout the night. I’m not mad about the early morning though, I’m a morning person who got to wake up to natural light and an amazing view. We have a bit of a lazy morning, but we also have a full day of driving to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, which is about three hours away from the lake house. So we all shower, pack up, and leave by 10 a.m. We also do everything on the cleaning list so that we aren’t charged extra for the cleaning fee.

10:15 a.m. – We barely leave the house before stopping at Dunkin’ for a breakfast sandwich and coffee. God bless the north for having a Dunkin’ at every exit. $4.31

1:30 p.m. – After a long drive, we finally make it to our main destination for the trip, Acadia National Park. It is typically $30 to enter the park, but A and I share an Annual Parks Pass (highly recommend if you go visit national parks!), so we glide by the ranger station. We drive around the park loop for a little bit, stop at Jordan Pond, and then move to the campground to set up camp.  We assemble our 8-person tent and unpack all of our sleeping pads and pillows and sleeping bags as best we can before getting dinner.

5:30 p.m. – We go into the town of Bar Harbor for dinner. There are a ton of places to eat, so we walk around the town square to look at menus and pricing. We decide on Cherrystones and we get a table on the rooftop deck. We all order burgers ($21.00) and spend the rest of the evening walking in and out of the stores. I find a t-shirt for where some of the proceeds go to the park, so I, of course, buy it ($7.37). $28.37

8:15 p.m. – We go down to Sand Beach to watch the sunset (except you don’t actually see the sunset, just the changing of colors in the sky, which is still pretty) and stick our feet in that freezing Atlantic water. Then we go back to the campsite, but not before stopping at a random convenience store to get some s’mores supplies and firewood. I buy the s’mores because they are my favorite and no one actually cared about eating some except me (weirdos). At the last minute, I buy some peanut butter crackers and a granola bar for our hike tomorrow. $17.79

10:00 p.m. – After eating too many s’mores and hanging by the fire, we are now all cuddled up in our tent and trying to rest up for our big day of hiking tomorrow.

3:00 a.m. – This night has taken a real turn. I wake up at 12:30 a.m. and cannot fall back asleep as hard as I try. L got sick and was going in and out of the tent all night, others were snoring, and the inflatable pillow that I bought for camping trips is extremely uncomfortable. And by this point, L is pretty sick and so R and I take her to the Bar Harbor emergency room.

Daily Total: $50.47

Day Four

6:30 a.m. – I finally go back to the tent after spending the rest of the night in the hospital waiting room. I still don’t know what is wrong with L, but they are taking so long that R drops me back off to at least get some amount of sleep. I am so exhausted.

9:00 a.m. – I get in about two hours of sleep, and then the four of us at the tent decide to get up and get ready for our only full day in the park. We don’t really know what is going on with R and L at the hospital because our campsite has no service, but I made plans with R to meet for lunch and get an update. We walk to the shuttle stop from our campsite and head back over to Sand Beach and the trailhead for the Beehive Trail.

12:30 p.m. – We finish our hike, and 10/10 recommend – there is such a pretty view of the coast from the summit and the hike itself is more technical with its exposed rock walls and climbing up iron rungs to get there. 

1:00 p.m. – We take the shuttle into Bar Harbor for some lunch at a deli we found the night before. I call R and let her know where we are and for an update on L. Long story short, the hospital didn’t have an answer for what was wrong with L, so at 8 a.m. she was discharged and then rented a hotel room to rest. But L has still been sick and understandably doesn’t want to ride in a plane tomorrow, so she and R are going to rent a car and drive from Maine to Tennessee. While we are obviously disappointed, we understand. R meets us for lunch before we take her to pick up a rental car. I buy a sandwich and then some soft serve ice cream for myself and R since she is a saint for leaving her vacation early to help our friend get home. $21.55

2:00 p.m. – We drop off R at the rental company at the tiny airport in Trenton, ME. I’m a little bummed and to be honest, kind of want to join the road trip (I really love road trips), but I know I have to stay. We still have the whole afternoon to hike and explore the park. We park back at Sand Beach and then walk the Ocean Path to the end and back, stopping at the different sections of coast to take some pictures.

7:00 p.m. – We drive to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse for sunset (you can actually see the sunset here). We get here early and go down to the rocks. There are a ton of photographers here trying to get their money shot, but we still find ourselves a good spot. And it is breathtaking! Would 100 percent make sure you watch the sunset here. There was also a family taking a full-on photoshoot, so that is pretty entertaining to watch as well.

9:30 p.m. – After the sunset, we are literally starving. We have to pass back through Bar Harbor, so we decide to get more pizza. We pay on one ticket so I Venmo my share. $8.02

11:00 p.m. – Fun fact, there is not a shower at the campground. There is a coin-operated shower facility about a minute’s drive from the campground. But since L booked a hotel room after leaving the hospital to sleep and before deciding to leave the trip, and hasn’t officially checked out, there is a free, hot shower available in the hotel room instead? Yes, please! Through a weird chain of events where they gave that room to someone else accidentally and now have no vacancy, L’s room gets upgraded from a Days Inn to the fancy hotel across the street. So long story short, I definitely make the executive decision that instead of spending another sleepless night in the tent, I’m going to sleep in a bed after this warm shower. So we have to go back to the campsite to pack it up (and we literally just throw everything into the minivan), drive back to our new home for the night, and take showers before passing out on a glorious and comfortable mattress. Do I feel a little guilty for taking my friend’s hotel room after she left to drive home? Yeah, but I’m also very sleep deprived at this point so I tell her I will help pay for the hotel room (and she was really cool about it guys).

Daily Total: $29.57

Day Five 

4:45 a.m. – We all wake up to watch the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain. It was about five hours of sleep, which was luxurious compared to how much I’ve slept every other night on this trip. But it was worth it to watch the sunrise because Cadillac Mtn is the most eastern part of the US, so it is the first place to watch the sunrise. It is amazing to watch the sky change colors over the Atlantic Coast.

7:00 a.m. – We drive back to the hotel and decide to clean and pack and organize the car for our flight later that day, which took a while because we literally threw everything into the minivan last night when we packed up the tent.

9:00 a.m. – We finesse our way into a free breakfast at the hotel restaurant with our upgrade. I am not kidding when I say that it is the bougie-est breakfast buffet I have ever been to. It has waffles and pancakes and French toast and an omelet bar and bacon and sausage and pastries and fresh fruit? It has literally all the options and they are displayed in such a classy way. We don’t technically have to leave Bar Harbor until 11 a.m. to start traveling but we already checked out and did all we could, so we decide to just leave and slowly make our way to Boston.

12:00 p.m. – We stop in Freeport to see the giant L.L. Bean boot at their flagship store. I can’t find anything worth dropping major money on, so I just walk around mostly. Plus I’m pretty sure I look like a monster from my lack of sleep, so I’m not really in the mood for shopping. But I did buy a keychain at some random souvenir shop – I saw this idea of buying a keychain as a Christmas ornament so that your Christmas tree has mementos of your travels. So I find a cute one to add to my collection. $3.15

2:15 p.m. – Right before leaving Maine, we stop for lunch at Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery. My previously mentioned cousin recommended this place, and so I try another lobster roll. And this one is way better (turns out mayo is crucial to a good lobster roll). My conclusion that lobster rolls are overrated can now be dismissed. I also get more soft serve because the trip is almost over and I have to uphold my vow to get as much ice cream as I can. $26.41

3:10 p.m. – We still have a ton of time to kill before we have to turn in our rental car, so we make a pit stop at the Salem Village Witchcraft Victims Memorial (the one in Danvers, not in Salem). I am honestly geeked, I am from the New England Area originally, and so this piece of history that I learned throughout my school years was so cool to see in person. So much so that I make a mental note to reread The Crucible when I get home. Very much worth the stop.

4:15 p.m. – We make it back to the Boston airport! We turn in our rental car with no trouble (goodbye swaggin’ wagon) and head up to the shuttle and the Spirit airlines kiosk. I don’t usually buy travel insurance for Spirit, but in this case, we definitely should have. I only checked in the 4 of us, and the 2 tickets for R and L went wasted with no refund. Whoops.

5:30 p.m. – The flight gets slightly delayed, so I spend time walking through the airport. I’m wearing a Yankees hat in the middle of the Boston airport, but I don’t even care about the major looks coming my way because I am a loyal fan. Because Spirit doesn’t have free snacks or beverages (I miss you Delta), I buy a snack and some cran-apple juice to at least pretend I am flying Delta ($9.68). I also Venmo A ($23.26) for all of the gas that she paid for (she kept a meticulous spreadsheet of expenses; very impressive). $32.94

11:30 p.m. – It takes forever to take off, fly, and then arrive at the ATL terminal. But we are now back in the South, and it doesn’t take long to get our luggage and shuttle over to where we parked our car. 

12:15 a.m. – It is now a two-hour drive back to Chattanooga, so I try to sleep in the car. I have to work in the morning and there is a staff meeting first thing, so I can’t be late. I am very glad to be headed home though and to sleep in my own bed.

Daily Total: $62.50

How did you prepare for this trip?
I have planned several trips now for my friends and I to visit national parks. However, this one was a lot more last-minute planning-wise. (We decided to go maybe 1.5 months before we left. Normally we plan pretty far in advance.) This was also our largest group; I normally travel with two or three others, max. So it was a little tough to find good accommodations for us last-minute during Maine’s busiest season. But we made it work! I bought the plane tickets and booked the campsite and Airbnb. A booked the rental car and hotel from the first night with her federal employee discount. I also did the majority of planning for what we were going to do by going on nps.gov, reading an Acadia National Park travel guide, and researching Pinterest for travel blogs. I was a little dumb for not consulting my cousin more because she lived in Maine for four years and had great recommendations.

Did you use credit card points/miles to pay for parts of this trip? If so, please explain further: Nope! My credit card does cashback though, so I am going to use that towards my credit card bill (I’ve been saving them to use for something like this).

When did you book your flight? Do you think you got a good deal?
We booked about a month and a half before the trip. I think it was a pretty good deal since we couldn’t be super flexible on dates. It’s actually probably the cheapest I have paid for flights in a while!

Do you have credit card debt as a result of booking this vacation? If so, how much? No, I really try to pay off my credit card fully each month. So while I did put everything on my credit card for this trip (besides what I Venmoed to others since that is connected to my bank account), I plan to fully pay off this credit card bill. 

What was your favorite part of the trip? 
Definitely Acadia! I love exploring National Parks and this is already one of my favorites. The scenery is just gorgeous with the rocky coastline, the water is so blue, and I love how it’s dense forest until it reaches the coast. And the Beehive Trail was so fun, I love challenging hikes and this was just enough to get me sweating and climbing, with an amazing summit view to reward ourselves.

Is there a tourist trap you wish you had avoided?
The Portland Lobster Co. I heard a lot of good reviews through Pinterest and travel blogs, but it wasn’t very good. The atmosphere and aesthetic were really cute and fun, but they don’t use mayo in their lobster rolls, and it just was overrated. Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery was a lot better.

What advice would you give someone who is traveling to the same location?
Summer in Maine is amazing! But also very crowded because everyone else wants to come when the weather is amazing (seriously, it was in the 70s and 80s the whole time and sunny and breezy along the coast. I could have stayed forever). So research a ton to find the best deals. And try and make pit stops to other areas in New England, it has so much to offer! 

Would you stay at your hotels and Airbnb again?
Yes! The first hotel was just a Hilton, but they are always a good one. The lake house outside of Portland was so cute, and I would stay again if and when I come back to Maine! Seriously, sleeping right by the view of the water was heaven for me. The campsite was good too, it was more the fact that I was sleep-deprived and had an option for a hotel bed that made us not camp the whole time we had booked it for. The hotel we got upgraded to the last night was okay, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it for how much others would have to pay to stay there. The front desk was very unhelpful when working out our upgrade from the Days Inn. But the breakfast buffet was the fanciest I have ever seen.

Is there anything you wished you had time to do but didn’t?
Sea kayaking! R really wanted to do this while we were in Portland, but we just didn’t have enough time. I also would have loved to go on a whale watching tour, but the peak season for whale watching is more in the late summer/fall, so we wouldn’t have seen much. I will definitely come back to Maine though, so I can catch this next time!

Do you feel like you were there for the right length of time? Would you have come home sooner or stayed longer given the chance?
It honestly felt a little rushed. We flew in and out of Boston, so we had to do quite a bit of driving, and so less time was spent sight-seeing and hiking. I think because we had limited vacation days to work with, this was the most we could do and so we made it work. And if we didn’t have such craziness in the sense that there was a midnight trip to the hospital and two girls left early, we might have had more time to work more into our schedule. If I did it again, I would definitely take as much time as possible to stay here. There is so much to see and do, but also I would have wanted more time to just relax and enjoy it.

Travel Diaries is meant to reflect individual women’s experiences and does not necessarily reflect Refinery29’s point of view. Refinery29 in no way encourages illegal activity or harmful behavior.

Correction October 3, 2019: An earlier version of this diary included a typo in Maine’s state abbreviation. It is Portland, ME, not Portland, MI. We sincerely regret the error.

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Ever snap an Instagram selfie (maybe a NSFW drunk one) and intend to share it with just your Close Friends… except your thumb slips and before you know it, it’s been viewed by all 417 of your followers (including that one aunt you muted)? Well now, Instagram is launching a whole new photo messaging app called Threads — and it makes sharing photos with your Close Friends (and your Close Friends only) a whole lot easier.

Here’s how it works: If you have a Close Friends list on Instagram, it will carry over to Threads (and if you don’t already, you can make one on Threads directly). The app, which you can download in the App Store and which lives separately from Instagram, opens directly to the camera for easy photo access. But what makes it even easier to use than Instagram is that alongside the shutter button on the bottom of the camera interface are profile pictures of the accounts you interact with most. Instead of clicking the shutter, you can simply select the photo of your intended recipient and send to them with two taps only — making for a faster-than-ever photo-messaging experience. And you can also customize which profile pictures appear at the bottom of your camera screen.

And, if you want to send photos or videos to multiple recipients, you can just click on the shutter button you’re already used to, which will bring you to your Close Friends list to choose from. The camera also has built-in shortcuts that Instagram doesn’t — you can swipe up to send and pull down to delete, so you can capture that weird guy on the subway even more inconspicuously than you did on Instagram.

There’s also a pretty standard messaging inbox, which lives both on Threads and on Instagram, where you can communicate with your Close Friends only. But what makes Threads especially different from Instagram is its new status feature. It basically works like Slack — you can choose from preset statuses (like “At Home” or “On The Move”) or make your own, and that status will appear next to your name where it appears in Direct Messages for your Close Friends to see. Or you can opt into Auto Status, which sets your status for you automatically based on your location, motion, and phone information (though it will never share your coordinates). Because if Stories weren’t enough, now there’s an even more involved way to document to everyone what you’re doing at all times.

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Lately, Hollywood stars have been going for dramatic cut and color changes — Demi Lovato’s neon-green dip dye, Bella Hadid’s jet-black makeover, Mila Kunis’ platinum style — but there’s something to be said for a more subtle hair update. And of all the changes you could consider, bangs fall on the simpler side of the spectrum, yet they still satisfy that need for something a little different.

This year, curtain bangs, in particular, have been having a moment. Both Kirsten Dunst and Hilary Duff requested the look in recent months, and as of last night, Jennifer Garner is the latest to try out the full, brow-grazing fringe. The actress attended the Save the Children’s Centennial Celebration in Beverly Hills sporting thick, center-parted bangs that dangled right above her eyebrow arch.

While these bangs are new, don’t get too attached because they may be faux. Her longtime stylist, Adir Abergel, was spotted on Instagram walking the aisles of a wig shop just hours before Garner’s red-carpet appearance, and Abergel has done faux bangs for his clients in the past. Case in point: The blunt-cut faux fringe he did on Charlize Theron for the premiere of The Long Shot. While Garner’s bangs could be temporary, we definitely think the face-framing look on the actress is a good one.

We’ll have to wait a few weeks to see if Garner fully commits to this new style. In the meantime, add her look to your inspiration board on Pinterest ahead of your fall salon appointment.

We’ve reached out to Abergel for more details and will update this piece as we hear back.

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Welcome to “I’ve Got This” — Refinery29 and Plan B One-Step’s exploration of the pivotal, transformative life moments in which we’re reminded of our strength. Ahead, hear from one woman about the object she looks to as a reminder of her own fortitude.

Every morning on Mulafara Street in Chittagong, Bangladesh, a lanky man would walk down our road, shouldering a branch lined with bunches of bananas. “Bananas! Bananas! One TAKA!” he’d yell. My grandmother would drop a string down from our balcony with a one-taka coin attached, her bangles jingling, and the man would tie exactly five bananas to the string before she reeled it back up.

Each afternoon, the sun set right as the fourth prayer call sang from the mosque and rang across the entire town. That’s how I learned to tell time. That’s how my grandmother told time her entire life.

When I was four, we moved to New York — and time began to move differently. It was rapid and frantic. Everything sounded new — no bangles clanking, bananas, or call to prayer to punctuate the passing of each day.

In our Brooklyn home, I would sit inside and picture our apartment back in Bangladesh — how I would return home to the jingles of women’s bracelets brushing against pans while they made “botha,” the Bengali word for mashed potatoes. My aunts would hand me garlic to peel, but my tiny fingers couldn’t grasp the cloves properly. They would drop to the floor, and everyone would laugh.

All the women in my family dressed impeccably, even when they worked in the kitchen. They wore thick gold bangles when they were home. In Bangladesh, I watched them all gather — my mom, her sisters, my aunts, my grandmothers. When they went out to a wedding or a party, they wore their glass bracelets in blues, greens, and purples, selected to match the fabric of their dresses.

On one particular afternoon, having just returned from a game of soccer, my grandmother told me to go change for that night’s party. I was ecstatic — it was rare that I was given the opportunity to tag along. Next to my sequined dress she laid out a set of her red bangles for me to wear.

I watched the women dance and sing before we went out. They all had long, dark hair flowing down their backs, and the summer mosquitoes looked like butterflies to me. I couldn’t dance or sing like them, so I cried while the baul music played. The bangles on my wrists were too big — they’d dangle off my hands if I moved, it wasn’t fair.

By the time I turned 10, we stopped going to Bangladesh to visit in the summer. We lived in a big, Victorian house in Brooklyn, and my parents wanted my brother and me to focus our time and energy on our life here. They wanted to ensure that we would get into the “right schools,” and behave in all the “right ways.” I was supposed to thrive academically, make American friends — while still spending my weekends reciting verses at the local mosque and attending my cousins’ harmonium recitals. On one occasion, my mom laid out a traditional dress for me to wear to a family friends’ birthday. I rejected it. She wore her gold bangles, and I listened as they clanked against each other, wishing she wouldn’t make so much noise as we walked.

In that time period, in place of more traditional dress, I wore T-shirts plastered with popular punk band logos and blue jeans — and I tucked those red bangles away, far from my sight, in a jewelry box under my bed. I didn’t touch them until I moved to Boston for college at age 17.

At the time, I thought Boston was the perfect escape for me. It was five hours away from home — not too far, but far enough for me to feel as if I could leave any cross-cultural baggage at home. During my junior year, I saw an international student from the Netherlands wear a set of white bangles at a frat party. The ease with which she wore them struck me in a way I couldn’t articulate that night — like I had seen an old friend. It was confusing but tantalizing. That evening, I pulled the bangles out from under my bed and gazed at them. But rather than put them on, I simply returned them to their place.

After I graduated from college, I moved to D.C., and I began to feel a sense of ease that I had never before felt in America. My roommate Emma insisted everyone call me Shar-meen, the proper pronunciation of my name. For most of my life, I had never bothered to correct anyone, but now, Emma did it for me. I met my best friend Parth — he was Indian-American with green eyes reminiscent of my aunts’. He was always fluttering around, showing me videos of a Bollywood fusion group he led in Wisconsin. I started seeking out literature, movies, friends who celebrated their cultures, all of which served as a distinct inspiration to me. I began to find solace in place of isolation in my new life — one where I was open, and curious, and proud.

A year into living in D.C., my grandmother in Bangladesh passed away. I had just started a new job, and my parents insisted that the logistics would be too complicated for me to attend her funeral. I left work early that day, and walked along 14th Street back to my apartment, where I knelt down and pulled the boxes I’d hidden out from underneath my bed. I rifled through the memorabilia from my childhood: concert tickets, celebrity magazine cut-outs, band T-shirts, and among all the American markers of my youth, the set of red bangles. I pulled them onto my wrists, and marveled at the fact that they fit; they no longer slid off as they had when I was a little girl.

Now, my bangles sit on my dresser, proudly displayed beside my family photos rather than tucked away beneath my bed. When friends come over, they ask about them — they seem to glow, to catch everyone’s attention. I tell them all about the bracelets — and about my grandmother, my aunts, and the botha potato dish. It can be strange to hear myself talk with such pride and joy about something that gave me such great discomfort for so many years.

Last year, I went home for a family wedding. I hadn’t returned to Brooklyn to visit my parents in years. I wore a traditional dress I had picked out myself in New York, selected to match my lovely, red bangles and my kundan earrings. My mom looked at me, glowing with pride, all night long. As the ceremony ended, I watched the bride as she was leaving with her husband, her own glass bangles shining in the light. I closed my eyes and thought about myself as a child: I thought about my grandmother and my aunts, all dressed up for the evening’s festivities, long hair swaying, dancing to the baula around me until they shuffled out the door, leaving me with just the sound of chimes and clinking bangles.

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Mere days after they announced they were suing the publisher of The Daily Mail, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly suing two other tabloids. CNN reports that the royals have filed a lawsuit with The Sun and The Daily Mirror over allegations of phone hacking. 

A representative for Buckingham Palace confirmed to CNN that the issue is over “the illegal interception of voicemail messages.” It is unclear which voicemails the royal couple is referencing at this time. 

The news comes after Prince Harry published an impassioned open letter on his official website, stating he was suing The Mail for publishing a private letter from Meghan to her father, Thomas Markle. 

“In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year,” Prince Harry wrote of the alleged actions of The Mail. 

This is not the first time the royal family have taken legal action with the press over allegations of phone hacking. In 2005, a story about a Prince William injury was published in now-defunct British tabloid News of the World — owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who also owns The Sun — prompting allegations from the royal family that their voicemails were being hacked. News of the World editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were convicted of conspiracy to hack into said voicemails in 2007. 

Though the Press Complaints Commission found no evidence of phone hacking in 2009, a 2011 investigation by British Metropolitan Police discovered the publication was indeed engaging in the practice from 2004 to 2006. News of the World publicly apologized for the actions, and folded in July of 2011. It has compensated victims of the hacking. 

Jonny Dymond, a royal correspondent for the BBC, claims that Prince Harry’s current lawsuit could stem from the scandal from the early 2000s. This would be long before he met Meghan, whom he was defending when the couple issued their lawsuit against The Mail. 

Prince Harry’s issues with how the press treats the royal family can be traced  back to his mother Princess Diana’s death in a car accident, after she was being pursued by paparazzi on motorcycles. 

“I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person,” the royal wrote in his open letter. “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”

Refinery29 has reached out to The Sun, The Daily Mirror, and representatives for Prince Harry and Meghan for comment.

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On October 8th, Venus will enter Scorpio. In astrology, the planet Venus rules love and prosperity, while the sign Scorpio is associated with passion, possessiveness, and seduction. If you’re thinking that it sounds like Venus in Scorpio is going to be a particularly sexy time, well, you’re right.

“Venus in Scorpio always brings extra saucy and sexy energy,” explains astrologer Lisa Stardust. “Venus in Scorpio is the vixen — the unapologetic sex bomb.”

Venus will transit Scorpio until November 1, when the planet of love enters Sagittarius. So make the most of the next three weeks.

“This around, Venus will not disappoint at all,” Stardust says. It’s a time when your sexiest and most romantic fantasies might have a chance of coming true. “In fact, we can all expect to have plenty of chances to meet a stranger from across a candlelit room who we will fall madly and impulsively in love with.” 

But Venus in Scorpio isn’t just for us single people. If you’re in a monogamous relationship, you’ll notice the effects, too. “If committed, expect your relationship to deepen,” Stardust says. 

No matter if you’re in a relationship or single, you might notice a few changes in your sex life. “Sex will become more daring and adventurous — expect whips and handcuffs,” Stardust says. “This is the time for us all to embrace our freaky side.”

And it’s not all sex — we might see Venus’s influence on our bank accounts, too. “We will also be able to remedy all of our money issues and start a clear slate, as Venus in Scorpio loves to elevate financial matters for the better,” Stardust says. So download a budgeting app and a dating app — Venus in Scorpio is everyone’s time to shine.

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