What does "being strong" mean to you? As an arborist, I rely on a lot of equipment to keep myself, the crew, and clients' property safe. In my work, strength is understood as the dynamic load weight the rope or pulley is capable of bearing without breaking. "Being strong" to me implies the ability to withstand a heavy load without buckling. But sometimes strength is just physical strength -- as in, are you strong enough to move that huge round of firewood?
How can you be strong and vulnerable? : I literally can't!
Many women seem to have this one on lock -- their strength seems to be their ability to be vulnerable. But this has not been my experience. Friends provide a safe space for me to be vulnerable, but the more I show vulnerability outside of my friend group the more the vulnerabilities are actively used against me. I am like a crustacean: my strength is my hard shell that keeps the vulnerable puddle inside me together.
How do you encourage other women to be strong? My lady coworkers and friends are already strong enough to do whatever they set their minds to. Sometimes they just need the reminder, "You got this." Other times, it's merely implied: if no one is questioning or second-guessing their work, they stop doubting themselves; if they're given the opportunity to handle it (whatever it is) themselves, they crush it.
What’s one thing someone could do today to make them stronger? Do the thing you know you need to do that you don't want to. Stop making excuses, procrastinating or prioritizing useless time-sucks. Less talk, more investing energy into the hard stuff that will actually level you up.
When has your strength been personally challenged and how did you respond? Olympic National Park trail crew fired me without any notices, warnings, incidents or talkings-to. I was the only woman on my crew with 4 men, and we worked and camped in the backcountry 8 10-hour days in a row with no cell service. Despite being the only person who ran chainsaw for work outside of trail crew, they refused to let me run saw the entire stint of my employment. I was tough, strong, and opinionated, and occasionally moody. My 4 male coworkers complained that I was "threatening, harassing, and intimidating" despite never exhibiting any of those behaviors, never having a single incident and never being issued a single warning. They couldn't handle a woman who wasn't "camp mom" and who didn't bother with the customer service face. When they unjustly fired me, I took the national park to court myself and settled -- for half of what I was asking and 4x more than what they had originally offered.
Meg’s Intentional Act of Kindness
How did you use the $100? A homie in the community has lived through quite a bit, and she's been struggling to find stability. It's her story to tell, not mine. The $100 went straight to her. $100 can make a big difference in a person's life. I wanted the resource to go to someone who was without resources.
What was the 'Intentional Act of Kindness' process like for you? The homie who received the money was incredulous that someone she didn't even know had given me money "to bless someone with." She couldn't wrap her head around it, and almost didn't want it... but of course she needed it. Kristen's donations also inspired me, and I decided to match her donation to help out the friends who'd been housing and feeding our homie.