The Heart Behind Her Story

The journey began as I was sitting in my social work class watching a documentary called Miss Representation. Of course, my inspiration came from a documentary, don't they all. The inspiration didn't come from the main message about women's rights and being underepresented, but one statement tugged at my heart more than the rest. This One statement stayed with me for the months to follow: women are the worst critics of other women... Let that sit with you for a second.

If you really think about it, we are each other's worst critics. This statement sparked an inner battle in my head. I was a contributor to this. When a girl would walk into a room, I would be very quick to criticize the way she looked or the way she dressed, and I was someone who knew there was a problem... it was my natural instinct no matter how hard I tried to fight it. I think we can all relate to that. As I began to notice this trend, I realized that we need more positivity amongst women, but it was even bigger than that. I knew there was something needed, but didn't know yet what it was.

About two years later, I took a trip to Los Angeles with my sister. This city made me think about the polarized world of women. We have women who are super materialistic and care mainly about their image vs. the women who value brains over beauty and women not being materalistic. And this was a battle, where both sides criticize the other... there was no in between, but I kept thinking, what if there could be. What if we could be kind to each other despite our differences in opinions? I definetly believe that a women's image is not in her outward appearance, but who am I to judge a women who loves to wear make-up and does feel better about herself when she gets all dressed up. I think we have the wrong message about each other. I think we are so stuck on criticizing each other that we've forgotten what makes a woman a woman... and so I began to dream. I proposed that question to myself daily: what truly makes a woman a woman & slowly came to realization of something that I tell people all the time... it's their story that makes them who they are. Their identity isn't in how smart they are or how beautiful they are or how successful they are, but it is in all the good and bad that makes up who they are. It's all beautiful. Whether it's how they got to be successful or their religious views that have empowered them, but it all comes from a story of how they got to that point. What if we stopped criticizing each other, and learned that woman's story... and so that's what is happening here. I have decided to start a project that tells a woman's story... All of it. Not just the good parts, but all the parts. Not a specific woman but all women. Not just women who have their lives together, but also women who are messy. This project is meant to encourage all different women in all life stages. It's time for us as women to embrace the story we have to tell, and encourage others with those stories. How do we expect the world to take us seriously if we can't even come together as one...

Let's find the common ground that we are all women, we all have struggles and life sucks sometimes, but we are all in this together, We all have a story to tell. So there you have it. Her Story was created, and I can't wait for this journey ahead.