By Kayli Harley, TIWP Student
This writing was inspired by the image of the girl on the poster by Jessica Sobagal for the 2017 Women’s March on Washington.

She was born with big, curious eyes, that held the world in them. Her small fingers searched through life as it expanded before her, not a single piece of it left untouched, she needed to feel something in everything. Her bright smile challenged the sun with every laugh. Her tiny feet walked along the ground, her toes curling against the grass beneath her. In the eyes of her parents, she was perfection.

The world we created was destined to destroy her, and rid her soul of the purity within it.

She was raised to hide. Never go out too late because there is no trust left in humanity. Never wear that skirt because there is no resistance to beauty. Never speak too loud because her voice would be silenced regardless. She was raised to see her beauty through the eyes of others, and seek justification for her existence in the hearts of her peers.

She was raised to believe that love is the purpose for everything, but she was never taught to seek it in herself. She was burdened with having to change the world, but what she never saw was that she already had. With her crystal eyes and heart of stardust, her small fingers, and her tiny, exploring feet, she had.

The world we created was destined to destroy her. But she was destined to heal it.