Telling Stories

I've been trying to figure out what to write about for a while now. I suppose I have been waiting for something to happen or someone to inspire me. Today, my daydreaming brought me to the realization that I don't need something additional to happen to me in order to be inspired, the magic is already all around me. My muse is my neighbor that I saw wearing a mardi gras hat all through mardi gras season; it's the lady at the crosswalk with pain deep in her eyes, but a beaming smile on her face; it's my grandmothers, my mother, my sisters, my aunts, my friends. It's every woman that has a story.

Today, if you didn't know, is International Women's Day, a day meant to celebrate and commemorate the movement for women's rights. I know a lot of people just roll their eyes at a day like this. I've seen the posts about how things are virtually equal now, and how women should just really stop complaining so much, and in a lot of ways I agree (hold on, don't stop reading just yet!) I agree that things have improved since the start of the women's movements. I admit that I, for the most part, had the same opportunities as my male peers. I also am keenly aware of the areas that were not the same. My male peers were never shouted at on a street by a man plenty old enough to be their father. They weren't asked to take their top off by total strangers like I was at 15 years old, walking home from the store. They were never questioned about being on their menstrual cycle for rejecting sexual advances. They typically don't get silenced in meetings, especially not by a woman (gasp!) As a rule men are listened to more, admired more, forgiven more and almost always have the upper hand in a round of double standard.

I'm also aware my experiences are my own, and many women have it far worse. It's hard to sit and imagine the women around the world in cultures so foreign from my own that are oppressed and not even thought of-Women who aren't allowed to do things by law. Women who truly are second class citizens, forgotten by a world fascinated by shiny things. It is for these women that we must stand together and fight for equality. It's for the beaten bodies, the humiliated souls, the broken spirits, the fearful heart that we must look on one another with love and kindness, and with a righteous anger so zealous it can produce change. YES we disagree with each other on a lot of issues, but I think if we would take the time to listen to stories of the women around us, if we could put on their glasses for a moment to see this incredible world from their eyes, maybe we could understand each other a lot more. We must stand by each other to affect change and we must #beboldforchange  I want to tell their stories. Over the next however long this project lasts, my goal will be to tell the stories of women who maybe never had a voice....or women who had a voice, but just weren't being heard....or maybe women who want their voice to be heard by as many people and as many ways as possible. I want to tell the stories even if they are uncomfortable. Many stories might not be happy ones, but they deserve to be heard too, without judgement. I'm excited about my next adventure. I hope it might have an impact, even just one person.