When I was younger, I thought that I lived in a world where everyone got along and everyone was treated equally.
I would read books about the struggles of those fighting for their rights, and thought that it was over now.
That they won.
I never thought that I could still get discriminated against because I was a woman.
I never thought that my friends would get yelled at in the streets because of the color of their skin.
I never thought that my next-door neighbors would get so many more opportunities and get valued so much more because they were men.
Well, I guess ignorance is bliss.
I learned the hard way that I might not always be as welcomed or respected for who I am.
But my fear is that some day people won’t get the luxury to learn the hard way.
My fear is that those rules will be set in place from the first time they open their eyes,
and that it will be all they ever know.
I had the opportunity to talk back to people that said that I was less because of my gender.
I had the opportunity to speak out against the people that told me my clothing was too masculine.
Or they didn't agree with how I cut my hair.
I was never told to keep my mouth shut
or my head down.
But now I realize that I wasn't told to do that because I was safe
or because I was already equal.
I was never told to do that because that's not how you get things done.
You can't start a revolution if everyone would rather stay home.
You can't fight for your rights if the people are more comfortable remaining silent.
You have to lift your head
and lock your eyes on the horizon
and open your mouth.
And you have got to yell.
You have to yell to the heavens and to the earth
and to the people that hold you down
and the people reaching their arms out to lift you up.
Because there are many of each.
And the people lifting you up are the ones you read about in books when you were a kid.
The ones that I thought were the end of the revolution.
These people have been here a long time, and they've made significant progress,
but they're still fighting.
And so are we.
Because if we don't get out there,
Then the revolution does stop,
and we lose.
And that is when our greatest fears come true.
And it is only with the people who have been fighting their whole lives
and the people who have just begun,
that we can win.
And when it seems that the finish line is pushed forward every time we near it,
that's called progress.
And progress is the only thing that makes us able to win.
Because we will never stop fighting.
Each time we win,
we find a new spot on the horizon, and we keep running.
And I will be chasing that horizon until the day I die
because that is the only way that we will keep our fears from catching us.
And it is the only way that we can ever hope to be equal.
The Young Writers Project provides VPR's audience another avenue to hear and read selections from Vermont's young writers. The project is a collaboration organized by Geoff Gevalt at the Young Writers Project. The thoughts and ideas expressed here are the writers' own and do not necessarily reflect those of Vermont Public Radio.
