I attended a lecture given by Vivyan Adair at UTSA today. Aside from being really inspirational, it was extremely educational. Dr. Adair was very informative. I mean, crazy informative. She spoke really quickly so that she could get out all the information she wanted – and needed – to give. And she had all the necessary information to persuasively and effectively make her point including: statistical information, personal anecdotes, photographs, theoretical diagrams, and the story of her own journey. All these elements, in conjunction with her own feminist perspective, really did it for me. Overall, I valued the lecture on both academic and personal levels.
The downside of attending this lecture was that it did not directly inspire me to behave as I should. In fact, I became overwhelmed when I began to think again about the problems of this country, and then i began to feel as if I’ve let myself – and all those who believe in me – down. Down, down, down. Lower than I could possibly get right now, if that’s even possible. And the subjects of Dr. Adair’s project really put woman like me to shame. Shame on me. For not pushing myself to truly succeed. Shame on me, for not being all that I could be. For finding inspiration only in the accomplishments of others, in those that I love, or in those that gave me my name and my sense of being. Shame on you, Vanessa, for not finding the motivation to believe in yourself.
Hopefully, with time, lectures like the one I attended today will not only directly inspire me to do more but will also one day reflect my own life, my own accomplishments, and make me beam, not hunch over.
I have not lost focus on what the lecture was attempting to do – to bring attention to the poverty of women in the US, the glass ceilings, the welfare policies that so badly need reform, and the benefits of higher education – but I have once again been reminded of another element of society that I must focus on. Me. Maybe a few years too late, but better late than never.
-VC
Coming Soon….Review of Missing Story of Ourselves on the Reviews page. 
