NYC Student (20 years old), she/her

"I was in an Uber heading to the airport when I got the most sudden, intense stomach pain of my life. I tell the driver to pull over and get out of the car. I went to 3 stores and not a single one let me use the bathroom. It’s late at night so any publicly available bathroom I knew of anywhere nearby was closed.

I run into a Duane Reade in tears and ask if they have a bathroom. The guy working in the store says “sorry, for employees only” and my

heart sank. I thought I was going to have an accident. He must have seen how devastated I was because he then told me I could use the employee restroom. I couldn’t stop thanking him.

I just remember thinking that if I wasn’t a 20 year old white girl with nice clothes that he might not have treated me with the same kindness. I think about the shame I felt when I realized I may have an accident in public and that shouldn’t happen to anyone."