Vote No on 6!

(The Great Mia and Myself Letting Voters Know the Deal)

"Vote as if your life depends on it."

Newsflash: It does. It did and the way things are looking, it will. I had the amazing opportunity to stand up for women's health and reproductive rights. I volunteered with the Feminist Majority on the "No On 6" campaign against Amendment 6. If Amendment 6 had passed, it would place restrictions on access for women to abortion and would have deleted a right to privacy clause from the Florida constitution.  Thankfully it didn't pass. I don't believe that there should be any limitations on the decisions people make over their own bodies.

I was able to work with some amazing people during this campaign and I got to talk to a lot of people. What I've learned about volunteering with campaigns is that not every one is going to be on the same page with you and there's nothing wrong with that. You can't change everyone's mind. The goal is to let people know why this is important to you and to all of the people that are impacted by the issue and hope that they make the best decision. Not everyone will have a peaceful and calm conversation with you but I learned that you can't let those people get you down. I had to decide in those situations that I was not letting anyone keep me from standing up for what I think is right!

While volunteering I was able to talk to voters while tabling on campus and phone-banking. The above photo was taken on campus near one of the polling centers. We high-fived so many voters that day. I was only able to phone bank once for a short period of time but it was a real memorable hour of calling voters. A lot of us phone banking spoke to at least one older woman who had already seen this fight for reproductive rights and could not understand why it's something that's still being voted on. I spoke to several older women who sent me good thoughts and praises for fighting the good fight. Messages like those encouraged me to keep going and made it easier to deal with people who aren't so nice over the phone.

This was a great experience for me--one of the best from this last semester. I believed I grew as a person seeing how my small contributions can really make a difference.

Don't be ashamed.

I saw a girl earlier today who had a very cute tote bag that had a picture of what is most likely her favorite band on the front of the bag. What made me upset though, was the fact that she hid the side of her bag that had the picture. I thought the bag was cute and I want one just like it but I also know that people probably made fun of her for having it because they don't approve. How sad is that? Why do people have to be ashamed to wear or use the things they like just because their afraid of what other people will say? I don't like lime green pants but I'm not going to tease someone if they choose to wear them. It makes no sense!

No one should have to live their life according to other people's views!

We don't have to agree on everything and we don't all have to like the same things but we do not have to tease others for liking something that we think is "uncool." Not everyone handles that well and why would you want to make anyone cry? Why would you ever try to hurt someone for having views that are different from yours? It is just stupid!

We need to make progress! We need to find a way to make sure that no one gets hurt for wanting to live their own life and not the life that has been set as the "cool way" by others. To everyone who has every felt that they couldn't be who they really are because they were afraid of what others would think, live the life you think is "cool." Be the person that makes you happy and not the you that others think you should be. You are important. Your thoughts and views are important. Be a reflection of the the most beautiful and special person you could ever be, yourself!

Key To Communication

I recieved some amazing advice today and thought that I should share it. "Listening is the Key to Communication." We have to listen in order to be heard. We don't listen enough as people. Maybe the answers we need are being given to us but we just aren't taking the time to listen to them. We really shouldn't being missing out on the awesome things people may have to say. Maybe if we listen, our words will be much more effective when we speak up ourselves. Words and Expressions are beautiful and we should be thankful that we have tons of opportunities to share our thoughts. It's important to share what you have to say because we can all make a difference. Don't stop sharing what's on your mind just because it seems as if no one is listening. Be the difference and believe in yourself because you're important and you may not know it but the world loves you so listen to what they have to say and they'll listen to you as well. We need to be able to listen to understand. We need to be able to listen if we're every going to accomplish anything and make the difference.

Share it with the world

Let's use our voices to make a difference. Let's share our voices with the world. Let's speak up for others who are unable to stand up for themselves. Like the more than 1500 children who face death in abusive homes. Or the more than 660 million people living in poverty. Let's try to speak up for the more than 840 million people who are malnourished with over 150 million of them being under the age of 5. Even if we may not have the type of platform that celeberties like Alicia Keys and Angelina Jolie have, we still have the power of our actions and little actions add up. We can make the difference and all we need is ourselves.

Please visit these sites that make it easier for people to help make the difference:
http://www.dosomething.org/
http://www.sovialvibe.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=46605444512 (open up through secrets)

if you know any other sites, please leave them as comments so I can add them to the list!
thank you.