Dear Young Woman

by Faith Conrad, Zion Ellison, Wendy Pacheco, and Rebecca Williams

Dear Young Woman,

You are so hardworking

               yet so unappreciated

You try your best all the time

               but others try to bring you down.

Dear Young Woman,

It is okay that you don’t know

             what to do with your body

             what to eat, how to dress, 

             and who you are.

It is okay to be lost 

             because that is the only way you can be found

             found and loved

             found and supported

             found and yourself.

Dear Young Woman,

             Be you.

Prove them all wrong

             the misogynists, the haters, the assaulters.

When you’re at the top

             Inspire the rest below.

Dear Young Woman, 

Behold the mighty world 

             filled with beauty and wonders before you.

Grow and bloom

             like a delicate flower under the Spring to your dreams.

Fly like a dove and soar

            through an unlimited sky

            behold all that is beautiful

            like you.