Madonna reveals difficult past, including a rape, in her new personal essay for Harper's Bazaar.  Madonna is one of the most successful pop stars of all time, but it wasn't always easy for her - and her early years in New York City proved to be a dangerous trial.

Madonna revealed what it was like growing up in Michigan in her personal essay for Harper's Bazaar, explaining what drew her to the dangerous streets of New York City: "I didn't have many friends; I might not have had any friends. But it all turned out good in the end, because when you aren't popular and you don't have a social life, it gives you more time to focus on your future."

"And for me, that was going to New York to become a REAL artist. To be able to express myself in a city of nonconformists. To revel and shimmy and shake in a world and be surrounded by daring people."

Madonna came to New York City with big dreams from her hometown in Michigan, but the experience she describes in her personal essay for Harper's Bazaar was often difficult, and she was raped: "New York wasn't everything I thought it would be. It did not welcome me with open arms. The first year, I was held up at gunpoint. Raped on the roof of a building I was dragged up to with a knife in my back."
"I was scared s***less and freaked out by the smell of piss and vomit everywhere, especially in the entryway of my third-floor walk-up."

Despite the rape, Madonna perservered in her New York City dreams: "I was defiant. Hell-bent on surviving. On making it. But it was hard and it was lonely, and I had to dare myself every day to keep going."
Madonna explains what kept her going despite the difficult experiences she suffered: "If I can't be daring in my work or the way I live my life, then I don't really see the point of being on this planet."
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Madonna has recently hinted that there may be more in store for her yet, including a new album for 2014.  One thing is for certain - the queen of pop continues to be daring in her work!
Read the whole Madonna personal essay in this month's issue of Harper's Bazaar!