People who doubted me pushed my passion for women’s equality.

"People who doubted me pushed my passion for women’s equality.

As a young girl in school, when teachers asked for a "helper,” I would always want to go, but it always meant picking up boxes or punching desks, and because I was a girl, I would always get the second line, “I need a strong boy to help me.” In my mind, strong wasn't synonymous with boy. But after that, I wouldn't volunteer to move desks because I wasn't a boy, and because I was a girl, I wasn't strong enough or capable.

When I got older, another opportunity arose to help, but again I was struck down. This was a wake-up call for me. For the first time, I openly questioned, “Why can the boys only help?” Doubts and rejections by people I looked up to made me mad, and it fueled my passion at a young age to do research about feminism and womanism and look into how we can continuously build equality and create equity for all women. 

Resilience is the ability to withstand and recover, and it is what I admire in the women in my life. Resilience is exuberated in the long paths of my grandmother, mother, and aunts. Listening to their stories, I see it is not only a trait you’re born with but also a skill you must develop. I have learned that although life will be difficult with bumps and obstacles, I have to learn from them and recover."