Use Your Voice
As a survivor, your voice is unique in that it does not project from a one-size-fits-all perspective and develops through trials, tribulations, and detours. The ability to overcome, form, and perfect your voice along your individualized path lies in remembering that experiences and outcomes vary from person to person.
Your voice has a purpose, and although it may take some time to see it, over time, you will recognize the value in your voice. Just like a garden will not grow just because you plant bulbs or seeds and wish it to grow, your voice will not grow without proper cultivation and care. The authenticity that accompanies your voice requires continued patience, growth, delays, and sometimes detours. I remember when I landed my dream job- armed with the education, experience, and portfolio to validate my voice, I quickly learned that to use my voice, I had to accept some detours and delays. Some people were not ready to embrace my voice and what it represented. At that moment, exercising patience was painful, and the process was slow-moving. That experience forced me to view life, and my experiences, through a different lens. It wasn’t that my voice didn’t matter, it just didn't matter to the individuals I was trying to share it with. In learning to accept that hard truth, I changed my audience, instead of altering my voice.
As a survivor, it's imperative to become so confident in your voice that the opinions, rejections, and presence or absence of other people don't change the narrative for you. Using your voice is a gift you give not only to yourself but one you share with others to help them on their journey. Far too often we buy into the rhetoric that we lack the understanding or ability to inspire change or that our stories are void significance, and therefore don't matter. This is the farthest thing from the truth.
The times we are living in has made this more apparent than ever. The murder of Vanessa Guillen sparked global outrage and exposed deep corruption in our military forces, but it also turned up the mic and allowed us to hear the many individual voices that were silenced because the orators were told they didn't matter or were insignificant.
The Black LivesMatter, MeToo, and Times Up movements constructed a stage from which to project our voices, individually and collectively. As you are reading this post, I encourage you to think of ways to use your voice to stand up for the issues that matter to you the most. In challenging you, I pledge to continue to speak my truth by shining the light on offenses while working to eradicate sexual misconduct of all kinds.
Here are some ways you can use your voice:*
Educate yourself on the things that matter most to you.
Work on your own habits and beliefs.
Research the local presence.
Take action in your community.
Go to a protest or demonstration.
Use social media.
Volunteer your time.
*https://mashable.com/2016/03/26/social-justice-get-involved/