Standing Up For Yourself

Being a strong willed 19-year-old means I don't take anything lying down. I'm someone that wants to have those tough conversations to get to the bottom of complex situations.

A few weeks ago I found myself in a moment of make or break. I had to stand up for what I believed was right but doing so meant confrontation and finding some sort of inner strength. I thought I had come a long way since my journo prac in October and figured I could handle it with ease.

I was wrong.

Although I'm tough, I'm still a person who gets emotional.

I get emotional because I care.

What I learnt from this experience was that I am someone who will fight for fairness and respect. I'm not weak because I'm in tears but rather strong because I'm dealing with the situation in the first place.

I don't know why there is the perception that we shouldn't get emotional. As people, emotions are what make us human. So, why do some people think that all things should be free of emotion and spoken about in terms of categorised issues? I don't get that.

From now on I'm going to accept that when I'm in tears there is a pretty good reason why. I'm not someone that just cries at the drop of a hat to get what I want.

Although being emotional is perceived as a inconvenient female emotion I am going to take it in my stride and use my care fuelled tears as ammunition to fight for what is right.

I'm not going to apologise for this photo of this super adorable kitten even though it has nothing to do with this post. I was looking for some really cool shot of a lion or some sort of animal that represents strength but I couldn't scroll past this. Enjoy!

#ashleighdwan #beyondthestory #journalism #emotional