Advocacy 101

Advocacy is very near and dear to my heart. And this was before I knew there was a word for it. If you are anything like me, you may have thought advocacy was this grand gesture of going half way across the world and helping others. Now do not get me wrong, that is beyond amazing. I just don’t want people to think that the work they do for themselves and others daily and on a smaller scale does not matter as much. I am here to tell you that it does matter. I am going to sound cliché for a second so bear with me, but even if you just help one person, you are making a difference. You really are!

For me, I have come to realize that some of the most important advocacy starts with you and your experiences. When I was younger, I involved myself in all types of volunteer work. I just wanted to help people. But I found myself going from one cause to another. There are so many amazing causes out there, and they all equally need advocates. That being said, for me, I realized that being an advocate for what I was passionate about was key. For me, that was mental health and myself. Before you think that myself is selfish and that it is about others, understand that 1) I used to think that way too and 2) You have to help yourself before you help others. Take it from me who learned it the hard and long way.

I am really excited to dive into this blog series. There are so many forms of advocacy, and I think it is so important to our health and well-being. Especially as women, I think advocating for ourselves and our many rights is a beautiful thing. I didn’t realize this before as a woman. Or maybe I did and I didn’t feel like I could speak up or stand up for myself and others. I have felt guilt over this for some time until I realized that I was not alone in this. Other women felt this way for so long too. Although this deeply bothered me, it helped me realize the importance of unity amongst us women. Even writing this made me smile.

I am thinking that we can start with advocating and passion. Like I mentioned, passion is key. It ignites our soul and allows us to really learn what we love and a perspective into the life and work we want to do, our legacy. You will be hearing from me shortly! :)