My Freedom is Your Freedom: A Dressember Morning Meditation
The world’s greatest injustices have always been fought with courage and creativity.
We follow in the footsteps of giants:
Rosa Parks. Helen Keller. Eleanor Roosevelt. Ella Baker. Our mothers, Nanas, and mentors.
Some of the boldest acts of fighting injustice have been the most innovative.
We walk alongside of a new generation:
Malala Yousafzai. Greta Thunberg. Marley Dias. Yara Shahidi. Emma Gonzalez. Noor Tagouri. Sophie Cruz. Bana Alabed.
It takes courage to believe that you can change things.
Courage is not naïveté, false optimism, or reckless abandon. Courage is staring at adversity in the face. Courage is setting boundaries. Courage is humbly asking, “How can I be a better friend?” Courage is showing up again and again and again, even in the likelihood of failure. Courage is falling down, then rising.
It takes courage to create a way to let light into the darkness.
Divides that were once cracks in ice now appear to be oceans separating people. Cries of pain, loss, anger, and frustration are pouring out from all corners of the earth. The world seems to be on the brink of everything.
Dressember is about shining that light.
Shining a light of generosity on people, while tearing down oppressive systems. Shining a light on problems, while celebrating what is good. Shining a light on injustices that make us angry, in order to show us what we love. Shining a light on our own wounds, traumas, and pain that have made us resilient, powerful, advocates today. Shining a light on the behind the scenes work and the little victories. Shining a light on the feats still to come.
Dressember is an opportunity to advocate for the inherent dignity of all people—
We are all people. We’re the Rohingya. We’re the refugees fleeing South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Nigeria. We’re the people fighting for the basic right of water in Flint and Standing Rock. We’re the parents of Parkland students. We’re the youth walking out of school on Fridays for the future of the planet. We’re asylum seekers looking for a better life. We’re the child being trafficked only hours after being kicked out of their home for coming out. We’re the woman who thought ‘that will never be me’. We’re the daughter who was promised a steady job in another country, hoping to send the money back to her family, only to be tricked into a trafficking scheme.
Remembering that the things that unite us are greater than the things that divide us.
Each of us, a thread of a greater tapestry—the letter of a word of a sentence of a page of a chapter of a book about humanity. Who am I? I am you, you are me, we are us.
Remembering that courage is contagious.
All it takes is one step forward. Waking up and having your feet touch the ground. It’s the decision to wear a dress when the yoga pants are staring you down. It’s the boldness to wear the same dress or tie every day, despite weird looks. It’s about using the discomfort to speak up about injustices.
Together, with thousands of others around the world, we will celebrate true freedom—their courage, their strength, their dignity.
We are the soon-to-be mother putting on her dress over a growing bump. We are the college student dressing up during finals. We are the person who didn’t know how to tie a bow-tie before who is now an expert. We’re the high schooler bringing teachers and students together to advocate for all. We’re the person wearing the same dress every day of the month. We’re the bold soul wearing their wedding dress after reaching a fundraising goal. Despite different outfits, locations, stages of life, and knowledge about human trafficking, we all unite around one goal.
For one month, with the dress as our flag, we will carve a path to a better future for people everywhere.
With this dress (or tie), I declare, “my freedom is your freedom.”
About the Author
Madeline Van Husen first decided to be a part of Dressember while procrastinating physics homework her senior year of high school and the rest is herstory. When she isn’t too busy hosting hot chocolate parties, asking people the 36 questions, or avoiding the dreaded side-hug, you can find her curled up reading a good book, creating playlists on Spotify or drinking copious amounts of tea or frozen hot chocolate. Maddy is a senior at Boston College and wants to be like her mom when she grows up.