Thursday, April 23

Reflection: Reading this quote, I’m reminded of how early the script for our lives is written. As girls, we’re often handed an expectation of who we will become, what our lives will look like, and what will make us whole.

By questioning that definition, I am freeing myself from the belief that womanhood must include having children and that is tough enough... But claiming myself as a whole woman without that role… that has been something else entirely.

There are still days when I wonder about a different version of my life and I ask, "who would I be if things had unfolded another way?" And then there is this life. The one that is mine right now. Can I radically accept this life despite how "othered" I sometimes feel? I am learning every day to turn toward this question and to place my hands on what is real, to say: this is mine. This life is worthy. This is a life I will live fully and celebrate. That kind of claiming doesn’t happen all at once because it’s a daily intentional practice. Perhaps that’s what it means to own a "freed self", not just letting go of what was expected, but choosing, again and again, to belong to the life that is here. -Adriana Rodriguez-Baptiste

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