How I overcame fear of discouragement in my advocacy
“I can’t wait until December! Then we can all wear dresses around campus.” That was what I heard about Dressember for the first time. I was a freshman in college, making my way around classes. I had no idea that this group of girls was preparing to advocate against injustice for an entire month.
However, before that, during my first semester, I joined the International Justice Mission (IJM) campus chapter. I had heard vaguely about their mission during a club fair and knew very little about the overwhelming statistics of human trafficking. Yet, something had reeled me in. I had always known I wanted to help people and communities in the world; I just never knew how. A club that used their resources raising awareness on a frighteningly global issue suddenly seemed the best place for me to figure that out.
I continued to attend meetings and quickly learned that IJM is the world’s largest anti-slavery organization, rescuing people from all over the world from systemic injustices. This idea of setting people free from modern slavery flooded my mind and eventually took over my worldview. I felt nothing but a moral responsibility to fight for the justice of the poor, vulnerable, and oppressed. During my sophomore year, I even added a Global Justice minor just to become more educated on the issue.
One day in November, during a club meeting, the girls began talking about the Dressember dress challenge, a campaign where women could advocate for victims of sex slavery by wearing a dress every day in solidarity. One of the girls, who was a Dressember intern at the time, shared, “Dressember fundraises for a great cause. They partner with IJM to support rescue missions everywhere.”
I quickly became interested in what Dressember was doing. Once I became familiar with IJM’s purpose, I saw how it supported organizations that fought for similar goals. I just didn’t know at the time the difficulty I would begin to face as an advocate.
Over my next two years in college, I struggled to commit to the dress challenge. I wanted nothing more than to see my peers acknowledge that human trafficking was real, but at the same time, I couldn’t imagine myself wearing a dress every day of December. I wanted to support a good cause, and I desperately wanted people to understand my newfound passion, but I found every excuse to slip into a pair of warm leggings. I watched from the sidelines every year, as girls from the IJM club proudly paraded around campus wearing dresses. Guys even wore bow ties to make their mark in the movement. Why couldn’t I? What was holding me back?
Finally, my junior year rolled around. Fall turned into winter and the morning walks to class became brisk and chilly. December was here. Would I wear a dress? Was I ready to commit? I spent the first four days of the month rummaging through my closet, rearranging outfits, trying to do my best to send a message on campus before suddenly, out of embarrassment, the whole thing ended.
I went through a period of discouragement, especially seeing that one of my roommates, at the time, completed the challenge. “What is wrong with me?” I would ask. Maybe I wasn’t the right person for Dressember. Maybe I didn’t have it in me to be a true warrior for justice.
I decided to spend some time thinking about my passion for justice. What exactly did it mean to me?
I soon realized that my heart for victims of slavery wasn’t defined solely by one thing. The Dressember dress challenge was just one part of my advocacy, not the entire package. There were so many other things I did to raise awareness. I took classes that educated me on microfinance and poverty; I told as many people as I could to join Dressember and IJM, and I shared stories with people I knew about successful rescue missions.
Once I understood that my advocacy was a mixture of many different things, the more eager and motivated I became to participate with Dressember. I began to feel more comfortable with myself and took time to focus on the process it was leading me through. Now I know it is okay to struggle as an advocate sometimes. It gets difficult believing in the change for such a major issue. But with dedication and unbreakable passion, advocacy can become a major constituent to freedom.
About the Author
Danyella Wilder is a senior at California Baptist University studying Journalism and New Media with two minors in Public Relations and Global Justice. She's thrilled to work alongside Dressember in their advocacy to spread awareness about modern-day slavery. Danyella is also an admirer of travel, an online-shopping enthusiast, and she loves going to the beach just as long as she has a great book in hand.