Three Things Senator Wendy Davis Taught Me About Life

This past Tuesday, I had the privilege to witness Senator Wendy Davis filibuster an oppressive abortion bill that would ultimately shut-down all but 5 clinics in the state of Texas. I am indeed pro-choice. I think every woman has the right to choose what happens to HER body. The ramifications for the passage of such a bill are quite horrific. The bill would ONLY allow for the procedure to be performed in a handful of cities including Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio. Those cities are within a 3.5/4 hour radius of each other on the west side of the state. It takes more than 15 hours to drive across Texas!!! The bigger picture though, is that these facilities are the go to places for a lot of poor, uninsured women throughout this state and many nearby states as well for things like birth control, breast exams, and health checks.

I am not ashamed to say that it made me quite emotional seeing Sen. Davis literally give her body and her voice for so many that could not. I (re)learned 3 big lessons from her that can be applied to everyday life!


1. PREPARATION is key - 

• Sen. Davis and her democratic senate minority cohort had collected binders upon binders of stories, articles, and research to read from to take up the 13 hour filibuster time block.
• She knew what she was talking about and had retorts ready when she was questioned
• She wore the now infamous pink Mizuno Women’s Wave Rider 16 Running Shoe for the long haul. No heels for this battle

2. It helps to have PEOPLE -

• Frequently, her fellow Democrat Senators would stand around her for support
• Her office, with the help of social media, was able to keep collecting stories that they would then send to her to read ensuring that she had enough material
• Her Democrat fellows would eek the time... essentially running the clock by asking her questions that asserted their beliefs.... and spoke very slowly. LOL

3. In the end, it comes down to YOU - 

• Even though she had some support, it was SHE that had to stand for the entirety of the filibuster, even after there was some dispute as to whether a not a vote on the bill passed.
• SHE had the responsibility of thinking quickly on her feet when questioned by Republican senators.
• SHE spoke from her experiences and from what people would consider a mistake, being a teenage mother. And then she rocked it out at Harvard Law!
• SHE had to stand, she had to exhaust herself, she had to fight. And had it not been for the conviction of her values and what she wanted, she would not have been successful! 

Ain't Nobody Got Time For That: Working Amidst Self-Doubt

I am a worrier by nature... well my present nature. I don't think think I was always this way and I certainly hope not to be when I hit 30/35/30. (Everyone always talks about hitting those ages as this amazing time of "don't-give-any-fucks" with such joy and serenity. But that's where I sit now. And I don't like it. I really don't like it. It can be immensely overwhelming to think about how something, someone, some choice from your past may detrimentally affect your future. Hell, by the sheer virtue of my blackness, I may not get a job from some company. And what if I really wanted that job!? Or, the fact that I went to Harvard makes people give me a second glance, as if some institution makes you better? I mean, I'll take that advantage, but that doesn't guarantee me anything. Or, what about that potentially infamous picture that's on Facebook (don't go looking for it) that some "frenemy" won't take down? Or, that one time I.......  Or, the fact that I am pro-choice (not pro-terminate)... but pro-choice and I decide to express the values? So forth and so on. I won't divulge every victory or failure of my past of which in the latter there are many... but you see how my mind works? 

The only solution I've found on my worst day seems trivial... and on my best day seems life- affirming. 

• Say/Pray something to God/Higher Power/Heavens/Universe
• Connecting with good, honest people with whom you can talk and fellowship
• Be outside in nature listening to the little miracles, ie birds chirping, wind blowing, rain drops hitting the ground, bugs trynna bite me (I think I may have been a tree in another lifetime. HA!)
• Writing
• And recite the serenity prayer. Like a lot. Like.. to the point where my shoulders relax. Reminding myself that I can't control everything and attempting to, will surmount in a massive panic attack.

So in the meantime, I'm going to work on things I CAN control, like publishing a book of monologues this fall, and keepin it movin'. Cause when it comes to worry.... "ain't nobody got time for that."