Dear Evie...

Dear Evie,

I know you probably don’t remember me, but I still think of you. We met this past summer at an art festival in our hometown. I was working a Hillary Clinton support table and you came up to me asking to donate some money. You told me that you were seven years old and you had seen Hillary Clinton on television and thought she was cool. You said you didn’t know girls could be President and you wanted to help. 

You told me this would be your first donation to anything. Ever. 

You brought tears to my eyes because it wasn’t until meeting you that I fully realized what this whole election cycle really meant. 

I’m writing this letter to you because I want you to know a few things. 

It has been a week since we all went to bed knowing Hillary Clinton wasn’t going to be President. We woke up realizing that we were going to have to put all those dreams we had away for the time being.

And if you were anything like me, that probably didn’t feel very good. 

Disappointment happens. Be prepared: It can happen a lot. What truly matters is how you handle yourself when things don’t go your way. It’s okay to get angry. It’s okay to cry. 

I did a little of both this past week. 

Feeling upset means that whatever it is you were working for meant something to you. 

But don’t let your disappointment last for too long.  The anger you feel inside shouldn't be forgotten. It should fuel you and encourage you to fight for whatever you believe in.

But you can't let your anger just linger. You have to use it.

So now it’s time for me and for you to get back to work. 

There’s a lot of kids out there who don’t feel safe and who are scared. I hope you aren’t one of them. I am sure you heard a lot of the mean words that were said these past few months about all different types of people. I don’t believe them and neither should you. You are a wonderful young girl, no one is better than you. 

But you need to remember that in return, you are no better than anyone else. 

Everyone in our town deserves to be here. No matter who they are, what they look like or what they believe in. Try to be kind to all the kids in your class and stick up for the ones who are getting bullied. I’ll do my best to do the same when it comes to the adults. 

It is okay to speak up if you see or experience something that bothers you. Use your voice. You may not even realize you have one yet. It took me a long time to figure that out. 

And once you find it, don’t lose it. Your opinion matters. What you think and what you believe are important. At whatever table you find yourself sitting at, remember that you deserve to be heard. 

But you also need to listen. 

This may sometimes be the harder of the two. Take time to listen to the kids in your class, even the ones you may not get along with. They may not agree with you and you may not agree with them, but that is okay. You don’t have to be right all of the time. 

Elections are funny things. A lot of weird stuff happens and as you get older, you’ll learn this for yourself. In years to come, it may seem strange to you that this was the first election where a woman had a real chance to win. However, just because Hillary Clinton didn’t win this time doesn’t mean we should stop trying. It doesn’t mean that women are less than anyone else. Even though it didn’t happen this time, there is going to be a next time. I don’t know when, I just know it will one day happen. 

This loss taught me a lot. One of the most important lessons I learned is that as you continue to grow up, I still have a lot of work to do to prepare the world for you. 

Being a girl isn’t always easy. There were a lot of nasty things being said about women these last months. Don’t take those words to heart. I am proud to be a part of the Girl Squad. Women were fighting hard for you before you were even born. Just like they were fighting for me and for your mom and for your grandmother. Because that’s what strong women do. We lift each other up. 

For every Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama, there’s a lesser known woman who has played just as important of a role in our history book. Learn these names too: Susan B. Anthony, Bell Hooks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, Dolores Huerta, Marlie Matlin, Audre Lord, Wilma Mankiller, Patsy Takemoto Mink, Tammy Duckworth, Kamala Harris. These are just a few, there are so many others out there. 

Be like these women. Just as I am doing now, you’ll someday be standing on their shoulders. Work hard and stay dedicated to what you believe in. Know that kindness and understanding don’t always win, but they are always right. 

Little girl, in you I see so much promise. I see a world that I don’t know yet, but one that you have inside of you. I see your intelligence and your worth and though I don’t really know you, I see your strength. You may not even see it yet and not everyone in your life will.

That’s okay. 

 

Because for every person you encounter who may belittle or tear you down, is another working his or her hardest to ensure you that you are indeed, enough. 

I don’t know what is going to happen these next few years, but I do know that I’ll be here, working hard for you. And I hope that deep down inside, you know that there is an entire tribe of women surrounding you, working their tails off right now, so that your path will hopefully be a little bit easier to walk down.

Evie, I’m sorry it didn’t work out this time.  I'm sorry our system seems to have failed you. I’m sorry you still don’t know what it feels like to have the leader of our country look just like you. But I’m not sorry to have tried. 

Which leads me to one last thing: Adults aren’t always correct. We get it wrong. A lot. When you grow up and read about 2016, please don’t judge us too harshly. There were a lot of people doing the right thing, speaking out on injustice, protecting others, making phone calls, raising money in the hopes that this time we would be on the right side of history----you were one of them. That dollar you gave wasn’t in vain. 

I’m proud of what we accomplished this year. I hope that one day you are too.

Your Friend,
Michelle