Yesterday marked the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States of America. And with it came a renewed hope for the journey ahead as a country--and as a black woman in this country. "So much from one day?," you may be asking. And my answer is a resolute yes.
Let me explain.
Witnessing Kamala Harris, who is the first woman, and a Black and Southeast Asian woman, in fact, become the Vice President of the United States was historic and reaffirming at once. Why? Because it emphasized something we all know: representation matters. Seeing a woman who looks like me, and who has undoubtedly encountered (and overcome) the challenges that other women, and Black women, in particular, face, is the ultimate affirmation that it (whatever 'it' may be) can happen for me, too. It's no exaggeration when I say that countless girls and women of all backgrounds felt the same. To see it is to aspire to it; to know its possibility turned reality.
It's why, I imagine, President Joe Biden recounts telling his high school mates that he believed he would be President someday. He saw, administration over administration, white males, who looked like him, hold the most prestigious and powerful position in the world. Not a far stretch in his mind, therefore.
Hope lives in the believing that a dream, however audacious and ambitious, can become reality. Hope lives in being able to "see" before you see. And that's why representation matters. It's why recreating more moments like yesterday's, on the big and small stages of life, matters. From the White House, to the Clergy, to the Boardroom, to the University, to the Military, and so much more, it's what we need now more than ever.
Opportunity. Hope. Big Dreams. Dreams Fulfilled. Repeat.
If 2021 needed a booster shot (and it did, even in its short tenure so far), yesterday was the super dose of hope that I believe revived our expectations for better, brighter days ahead. And I pray you experienced at least a small taste of it, too.
Here's to more Happy (Inspired) Living!
