From the perspective of a former slave....

 I do realize that there are those who will never see me as a free woman because I was once a slave. I have already encountered a so-called "master", who presumed to order me to tell the girls who were addressing me properly that I was "no mistress" and, when I politely told him that I would not, as I was a free woman, he chastised those poor girls for "answering to a slave", and proclaimed my actions and words as "a girl's bullshit".

That is fine. I know who and what I am, and will not try to hide my past. I will celebrate, fully, the woman I am with no apologies and with pride. My time in the collar has helped me to learn what it is to be a woman and, indeed, has prepared me for being a BETTER free woman than I was before the collar.

I now know myself as a woman, and am happy to be so. No, I am not weak, by any stretch of the imagination, and there are few people, male or female, who can physically overpower me, but I no longer feel the need to constantly PROVE that. I enjoy letting men be men and not challenging them constantly, like I once did. I enjoy being treated as a lady, being protected, cared for, and nurtured, having bags, boxes, doors and chairs held or carried for me. Of course, I can do all those things for myself, and do not NEED a man to do them for me, however, I no longer see it as an insult or a condescending act, but rather, a tribute to my womanhood. And my gracious acceptance of such things is a tribute to their manhood. We are not the same, and that is beautiful!

Sure, sometimes I have more of my "male energy" going on, and in those times, I am more masculine than feminine, but I have learned that I do not have to hide any part of myself. And that does not negate the fact that I am a woman. I never would have come this far, if not for my years as a slave.

These are all things I may never have learned, had I not spent time as a slave. And, in fact, the books are full of examples of haughty, horrid free women who, after a period of enslavement and subsequent freedom, were the epitome of what a noble, Gorean, free woman ought to be!

So, yes. I was a slave and was happy and proud to have been one.

Now, I am free, and am happy and proud to be a free woman.

Those who accept that, welcome to this part of my journey. Those who cannot.. I have no words for, as they are not worth my time.

I hope that my path and my experiences can help others who may be on a similar path.. Perhaps my words can light the way, or even warn someone off that particular path. It doesn't matter to me, so long as my story is beneficial to someone!