Empowering Our Women

I don't understand why some people feel the need to bring others down, especially when it's from woman to woman. It just breaks my heart to think some women out there are bad mouthing others for no real purpose other than to crush their self-confidence. The world is big and scary enough.

The realm of journalism is competitive, like most industries these days. As I move towards graduation there is the real possibility that I may be competing for the same job with many of my friends. However, rather than belittle my peers now in the hopes of passing them somewhere in the future, I aim to build them up.

As I walked into Uni on Wednesday, in the hopes of getting some practice in before my terrifying radio prac next week, I saw one of the journo girls. Although we hadn't spoken much over the last two years we had a chat about how her prac had been travelling. I figured she would be acing it with the same level of self-confidence she carries every time I see her around campus. She is one of those girls that you know is going places and will make it in the industry. However, it seemed the last few days had rattled her. She was still taking the whole experience in her stride and enjoying learning about the individual elements that make the production work, but there was a little self-doubt. Not something I had seen before.

I'm extremely appreciative that this women didn't sugarcoat her experience and was completely raw. It was hard to see her own disappointment but it was real.

I flicked her a little message that night to cheer her up and hope that in some small way she gained a bit of that confidence back. I honestly feel like I have made a friend in her now and hope that we have some classes together next semester.

I really do encourage every single one of you to put yourself in other people's shoes and get a different perspective. Whilst there, empower that other person. It really doesn't take much to show you care, it might just make their day.

#ashleighdwan #beyondthestory #journalism