our women's conference was today! i'm so proud of our chapter and all the work we put in to make this happen--especially p-ro, who was slaving away for months but seemed composed enough for at least three of us. =) although there were some logistical hitches, our workshops went really well and aya was just incredible. y'all missed out if you didn't see aya de leon perform or attend her writing workshop. i was so inspired after working with her...haven't felt that comfortable with writing and sharing in a very long time. our keynote speaker, dr. malini alles, was incredible in demonstrating what you can accomplish if you're determined and never give up--that woman is amazing. yay for female empowerment! we can be feminists while remaining feminine, without being militant =) our conference was really about self-discovery and learning to accept yourself as a woman, as a minority, and as yourself, no matter what shape or form.

~
quick writes from prompts in aya's workshop:

who i am is...
below the surface of the Things I Do that occupy my time
a stream of noise and busy-ness
to conceal my fears and insecurities from you
and from myself.
i am confidence in the little things, insecurity in the things that count.
i am a frozen river that rushes beneath
where no one cares to delve -
touch me and freeze.
i am more than i let you see.
i am young and yearning;
old and cynical -
i am unresolved, irresolute
contradictory
but not hypocritical to myself.

my body tells me...
it yearns for another body's touch sometimes
despite the restraints placed upon it by society or myself.
my body wishes
i would accept it as me,
not an objectified third-person entity,
someonething
growing changing and maturing as i allow
and expect
my mind to.
my body tells me not to cut off a part of me in order to criticize and weigh and value-
"i love my fingers but my thighs where the fat lingers?
shave it off!"
don't wish for moldable fat -
it goes where it will
accept it unless its movement is worth
money / blood / pain.
my body tells me to listen to it.

i used to dream...
i could be anything i wanted to be
life was an endless room of unlocked doors in every direction
which ones shall i keep open?
but time moves on
doors disappear
and the few that i see
left open
divide me inside.
when i was smaller
i thought if i put my fingers together just one more time
maybe time would stop
and i would be more special than you.
i used to dream life was a slide -
i'm going down and growing old
but it's all one great ride
all i needed was gravity
and i never imagined obstacles.
i used to dream
everything would be wonderful.