I am often so inspired by my women. Well, actually, they are not "my women" because that would indicate some sort of ownership over them and their womanhood. But I refer merely to the women that surround me who nourish my soul and feed my mind; the women who aren't afraid to challenge each other's assumptions of the status quo, and in those difficult conversations, grow and learn from each other; the women who give space for me (and others) to explore personal insecurities; the women who value variations of pain as equally valid to vocalize; the women who juggle several jobs in addition to the unpaid and uncounted emotional labour they give to those around them (needless to say "those" often refers to men); the women who stand up for what they believe in, both in the classroom and in their lives realities; the women who wear their identities on the sleeves of their jackets, the heels of their boots, the rings on their fingers, the shortness of their hair; the women who recognize that small things can be radical, and big things are accomplishable.
I am not saying that all the women around me are all of this. That would be presumptuous and putting my own interpretations on their experiences. But I notice much of the above in the women around me, and wish to appreciate them. They continue to inspire me and connect me to gender, and identity in complex and charged ways. In particular and nuanced ways, they reaffirm my own subjectivity and allow me to explore my own strengths and faults.
Two weeks ago, I headed to Seattle with four of these women. We stayed on a lake, dipping our toes (and our bodies) in the frigid Lake Washington water, washing off the stress and individual complicated experiences of the last month. We laughed, walked, drank wine, breathed deeply, contemplated, swam, hot tubbed, thrift shopped, and mostly had tons of fun. A highlight of the trip was when my three lovely friends had me do their makeup and take pictures of them while we watched 2017 classic, "Girl's Trip." What a treat!!
Here are the pics:
