January 21st, 2017 began for me with my alarm going off at 4:15 in the morning. I was exhausted, having only gotten about three or four hours of sleep. I rolled over and for a second wondered why I was getting up so ridiculously early. And then, it hit me: I was going to take part in history that day. The thought fueled me out of bed. I now felt more excited than exhausted.
The bus ride down to Washington, D.C. was quiet for the most part. The majority of our group took advantage of the three-hour-long commute as an opportunity to get some much needed rest. We had a long day ahead of us.
I have to say, I was slightly hesitant when we got to the capitol and made our way to the rally space. I had seen on the news the day before how violent things got in D.C. during the inauguration. Was that going to happen with our march?
I was a little nervous about the potential for pepper spray and tear gas. I had even made loose arrangements in the instance of my arrest. I just didn't know the course this march would take and I wanted to be prepared for the worst case scenario.
Well, I can say that I have never been happier to be proven wrong. I'm not exactly a stranger to protest. I protested with my family against a proposed anti-immigration bill in 2006. The same unity I felt at that protest, I felt at the Women's March on Washington nearly 11 years later.
Every man, woman, and child I encountered at this protest were extremely warm and encouraging. We were all really crammed into the streets, as an estimated 500,000 people attended the march. The time we spent together was spent laughing at the creativity of some people's signs ("Putin on the Ritz" was my personal favorite) and pumping one another up.
When someone didn't feel well and needed to leave the crowd, everyone was very accommodating in letting them through. Someone even fainted at one point and all of the people around that person cleared the way so they could be taken out.
I felt extremely safe and comfortable in this crowd. Normally in big groups, I get nervous that someone is going to pickpocket me, but that thought never even crossed my mind yesterday.
Although standing for five or six hours was rough on my back and legs, it was so incredible to hear the speakers at this march. Ashley Judd gave a particularly electrified speech about being a "nasty woman" and it made me feel extremely alive. We all chanted for women's lives, black lives, LGBT+ lives, Muslim lives, and the life of the environment. I felt so empowered to be among so many likeminded people.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of the Women's March on Washington was the sense of hopefulness. It's no surprise that the last election left many of us feeling defeated. We felt like no one would hear us anymore. Well, that was not the case yesterday. Half a million people came together to shout out the need for equality, progress, and justice.
It just reaffirmed the beliefs I already held close to my heart. I didn't feel like everything was lost. I saw that all of these people before me believed in the same things I did, and that was so inspiring. We were there to have fun and to make our voices well known to the President, his administration, and Congress.
As I sat on our long bus ride home, an overwhelming sense of satisfaction filled me. I looked through some news articles on my phone and learned the protest I was just a part of is considered the largest protest in United States history. An estimated 2.9 million people participated around the country. Even more came together around the world.
One day, I'm going to be in a textbook. I exercised my constitutional right to peaceful protest and assembly, and it caused me to become a part of history. I can't even begin to describe how amazing that is to me. It makes me feel accomplished and true to the beliefs I hold. I'll carry the memories of the Women's March on Washington with me for the remainder of my life.
