Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Scared Shitless #YesAllWomen

- As one man -

I'm scared

that I'll never amount to anything

that I'll go broke and penniless

that I can't pay my bills

that I won't be able to live up to expectations

that I will fail.

That I'll die alone.

That I'll be fired

That I haven't done all the things I said I would do / have done.

That my friends will leave me

That my family will no longer love me.

But in spite of this, I will go forward. I will continue to love the people and things that I do.

I will continue to create new works. Build new worlds. Read books. Write.

- As one woman -

I'm scared

that I'll never leave home

that I'll be raped

that I won't be able to say no

that I won't have a job after having a baby

that my husband will hit me

that my son will hit me

that my daughter will be hurt

But in spite of this, I will go forward. I will continue to wear the clothes I like, spend the money I've earned, create and build new worlds with the people I love.

I will continue to stand up and speak out through whatever means available.

- As two people -

We will continue to love with all our hearts the baby boy we created together, and to have the courage to face a future where he might do harm to us and to other people.

And to love our baby girl, to teach and show her that we can change the world, and to make her know that she can too.

2 comments:

Yukirat said...

Love it!! Keep writing, Jon.

Feel the fear and do it anyway. As one admired writer wrote, her grandfather, a holocaust survivor who went through many awful incidents of violence and racism, never stopped celebrating life. Regardless of failure or negativity, simply living/surviving in this world is a victory and triumph in itself. Hope that your writing continues pushing forward.

jonathan lin said...

Thank you Yukirat! Yes - to survive and keep living and realising that there is a lot going for us. That's a great quote. Keep writing yourself too!