I felt unheard for a very long time. I also stayed quiet in protest more often than when I spoke up because I felt as though when I’d finally speak up, I wasn’t heard. I am the type of outlier that misses social ques. But I’m also the type of outlier, when given a challenge, I charge at it head on. So these days, I’m much better at understanding what’s going on.
Since I felt unheard for so long, one thing I try to work on is making sure the women (and men but this post is about women) around me feel heard. Even as a woman, I’m still learning to respect the voices of all the women in my life. It’s so easy to put my chin down and walk away when conversations gets too complex or maybe even too emotional. But I’m not trying to be like that. I wanna be a woman’s woman. I wanna see us rise. I wanna lift our voices. I want us to change the world so we can live with safety and wellbeing as a natural part of all of our environments.
Some people say I see you, but I don’t just see you and all the things you have to say, I want to see you. I want to be intentional about seeing you. And I want my actions to line up with that.
With that being said I must close with this quote from Sheryl Sandberg.
We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored.
Sheryl Sandberg
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