Dear Daughters of the World

Dear Daughters of the World,

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day; it is a very big holiday in some countries. This is a holiday to honor, celebrate, and praise women.

I hope you in Janesville & Rock County, Wisconsin will be celebrating with us in downtown Janesville at the event “Join Me on the Bridge” from 4:30 to 6:00 pm on the Milwaukee Street Bridge.

But, first I want to accomplish a few things in this letter.

I do want to tell you that I love you very much. I mean that sincerely. I am able to love you whole-heartedly in part because I love myself and because others have loved, cared for me, and invested in me—that is something I want for every single girl in the world.

And, I have experienced hardships and tragedies that make it easy for me to empathize with you. I want that for you, too. Take it with you. Take whatever heartache and tragedy or neglect you have experienced and let it inform you and make you a better person.

It is my belief that the one and only way to solve problems and to find genuine happiness is to see the world and life as it truly is; to see others as they truly are; and to see ourselves as we truly are—to know ourselves.

We, the adults in your lives, are failing you, our Daughters. We are bitterly failing the many of you who are living in poverty, who are experiencing terrible physical abuse and neglect, and who are lacking adequate food, clothing, housing, medical care, and educational opportunity. We are failing to nurture and protect so very many of you. We are failing to empower you and prepare you for life. We are failing to invest in you. That is the brutal reality for you.

We are also failing all of our Daughters (and our Sons) by creating and perpetuating a world that is sexist, racist, homophobic, classist and plagued by war. Every day, we get up and re-create it.

We are rearing our precious Daughters in a world where the single most popular radio host in America routinely uses sexual shaming.

We are allowing our husbands, fathers, and sons to use language about US and our DAUGHTERS that is simply reprehensible. And, then we don't teach our girls how to cope with it and empower themselvs.

And, many women and girls engage in and manipulate and torment each other with sexual shaming. It won’t make boys or men like them—and, it only makes them look so sad.

Shame on us. That is a reality that you have to live with.

But, there is another reality. That is the reality that you have far more ability than you ever dreamt of.

You have talents and abilities that you won’t even know you have until you are 60 or 70 years old.

You have emotional capabilities that are going to light your own world on fire—and are going to light up the lives of those around you. You have passions buried inside you that you don’t even know about.

You have more intelligence that you think possible because you haven’t even begun to try to access it.

You have more physical strength and endurance than you ever thought possible. Take good care of yourselves because you are precious. Demand that others care of you and show your care of them.

You will keep growing and developing until the day you die.

I promise you that no there is always a new day, there is always rebirth, there is always healing.

I promise you that life is going to be 10 times tougher than you ever thought possible and 10 times better. The more you invest in everything you do, the more you enjoy it, the more you benefit, the more you invest, the more fun it is and on and on and on!

You have the ability to work harder, longer, and smarter than you ever dreamed possible. And, that is the BIG SECRET to life. Just work. Work smart. Work better. And, smarter. The more you work, the more you will like it. Then, you will get good at it. And, then you will get great at it. Then, you will realize you are fantastically talented AND skilled AND experienced.

You will learn how to build a life brick by brick by brick: even if your own family and society has failed you miserably.

Well, I hate being serious. It’s so often painful.

But, Daughters of the World, I love you! I really, really do!

Your Ever Faithful Friend,

Vivian