“I hid in the corner in a fetal position, trying to protect myself. I texted my best friend in a panic. ‘I just need someone to know I’m not dead.’ I barely hit send before my phone was sent through the wall. After I escaped barely alive, my dad gave my abuser a place to live on his property.”
‘He’s taking my phone away. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.’ I barely hit send before it was ripped away and sent through the wall.’: Domestic abuse survivor says ‘I am taking my power back’
‘Maybe her shorts are too short, her jeans too tight. Maybe you think her dress is too revealing. What you don’t see is a woman falling apart.’: Woman urges ‘we are all just trying to do our best’
“You deem her unworthy before she even has the chance to speak for herself. She’s not a woman who finally found the courage to be who she is, dress how she wants, stand up for what she believes in. Trying not to let the coldness and cruelty of this world break her. Instead, she gets labeled. Simply because she just exists.”
‘I am the Too Much woman. The one who takes up too much space. I’m too loud, too vibrant, too sensitive, too honest. And still, I rise.’: Woman urges ‘your too much-ness is a gift’
“There she is, taking up too much space with her laughter, her curves, her honesty, her sexuality. Oh, that too much woman, with her belly laughs and fiery passion. The one who loves too hard, feels too deeply, asks too often, desires too much. Her presence is as tall as a tree, as wide as a mountain. Her energy occupies every crevice of the room.”
‘You’re the girl who cries on her way to work but walks in with a smile on her face. The girl who never asks for help.’: Woman reminds us ‘there is no shame in being vulnerable’
“I never reached out to anyone for help in any way — whether it be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, or just some advice, support, and borrowed strength. I know many reading this have been there as well. We are not so different.”
‘To the woman in the trenches, still clawing gracefully at the sides – be proud, you are doing it.’: Woman pens appreciation letter on International Women’s Day
“To the woman who cried herself to sleep last night because the fridge is empty 3 days before payday. To the woman so unsure where life is going that fear keeps her awake at night. To the woman who woke this morning and it was her ‘day one’ for the 52nd time since New Year’s Eve, but she won’t stop fighting for it. To the woman who encourages other women. You are all doing it. Every single woman.”
‘I was typing on a friend’s Facebook, ‘You’re so P-R-E-T…’ when I realized I was part of the problem. When did ‘pretty’ become the best compliment I could give?’: Woman urges ‘remind your friend she’s bold, brave, and inspiring’
“At one point, we were little girls dreaming of the day when we would be smart, successful, bold, brave, and strong. We would become doctors and lawyers and presidents. Then, the world told us what really matters most for girls: how we look.”
‘One of the moms told me, ‘She is not athletic; she is a girly girl.’ I couldn’t sleep that night. All I could think was, ‘Why does she have to choose?’ YOU CAN DO IT ALL.’
“My youngest daughter is trying softball for the first time. We were at practice, and I was talking with other moms. I said I hoped she learned to love the game because she was athletic. Her comment stopped me in my tracks.”
