Every day, when I scroll through videos on news accounts on TikTok or read articles on various news sites, I always see things about how my rights are getting restricted. Although I do not know what occurs in the minds of those who have a higher authority than I do, it always makes me question, “What have we done to make you do this to us? To me?” Is it scary to think that you could be losing the rights several generations of women have fought for us to have? Yes, it is. But you know what these times of uncertainty make me realize? They make me realize why I am proud to be a woman. Â
Besides seeing all the stories about the different things people have tried to do to limit what women can and cannot do, I look at the responses. A lot of these responses are women voicing their opinions just like how I am right now. But the reason these responses are so important is because you see how women are willing to fight for their rights. We also see off the screen when women are protesting and making their voices heard. Â
Just like how women march in Washington, D.C. every year to voice their opinions, I am doing the same with Her Campus. Her Campus has given me the chance to use my skills as a writer to express how I feel, and I am sharing that I am proud to be a woman. I am proud to come from a group of women in my family who have helped me get to where I am today. I am proud to flip pages in history books and see women like Ida B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, and Rosa Parks advocating for me even though they never knew I existed. I am proud to have the privilege to be writing this article alongside a group of women who share their thoughts and ideas every week, not caring about how others react to their articles when all that matters is how good they felt about it at the end of the day. Â
Some may look at this piece and say, “Olivia, you’re being too boastful”. Well, maybe being boastful is just what we need right now. Now, what I am not doing is talking about how women are better than men. What I am stating is how much women have accomplished just as much as men have. Many of us have become journalists, educators, first responders, activists, and so many more careers that show off what our skills are and how we are capable of doing great things. Â
Even though things are not looking good at the moment, I am hopeful that we will get through it. If you question if we, as women, are going to get through this, use this article as a reminder. A reminder that we have been challenged before, and we always reach the end stronger than we were before. Â