Beautiful Community

Sometimes you do not know how much you need your soul to be filled until it is. This week I have been participating in the NCORE conference. This afternoon I attended the “I Believe I’ll Run On To See What The End’s Gonna Be: Women of Color Reclaiming Our Rage, Our Hope, Our Joy, and Our Interior Lives” session. Dr. Marquita Chamblee, Pamela Chao, Dr. Karen Dace, and Kristi Ryujin made a 3-hour session feel like 30 minutes. 

The session descriptions shared, in part… “Women of Color do the “heavy lifting” on campuses all over the nation. We are counselors, advocates, supporters, mediators, mentors, speakers of truth to those who oppose us. Our motives are questioned, accomplishments are challenged, bodies are surveilled, and merit doubted. In short, racial battle fatigue and the toll it takes on the health of women of Color are real.” As part of the session, we had a number of breakouts where we gathered in small groups to share our experiences and thoughts. There is so much value in being seen and validated by women who share similar experiences. When you do not have to decode your experience and it is believed the first time, you breathe lighter, even if for 3 hours. 

We ended the session by crafting personal affair-mission. I wrote: “I will prioritize myself and my needs. I will be unapologetically myself in all spaces and places. I will live my life choosing joy, peace, and growth!” Today, I had laughter, tears, support, joy, and my soul filled by women I had not met before. I am honored and blessed to have shared time and space with them today.  I wish I could have this experience every day!