Happy International Women’s day everyone!!! Every year I try to write a blogpost to commemorate my favourite day, and 2021 is no different. There are big changes coming for me at the end of this month, some set in stone, and some still undecided, but they have got me thinking about what I want my future to hold.
The feature image for this post is a poem written by Rupi Kaur. I remember seeing it last IWD and feeling that it resonated with me so much. I have dedicated the last 2 years of my academic career to studying women and gender, and I have learnt so many incredible stories that have moved me, shocked me, inspired me and motivated me. I want to be one of those women, one of the women fighting to make the world a better place for future generations. There are still a lot of question marks surrounding my future career at the moment but something I do know, deep in my bones, is that I would like to help women, I would like to make a positive impact on people’s lives, and I would love it most of all if that could be done by teaching and exploring History somehow.
Whenever I watch or read stories of women from the past, I always end up getting really emotional. And I think that is because I am so grateful to all of them for fighting for my rights and the rights of every person living now, but also because I am a little jealous of them, jealous that they were brave enough to make a difference. I don’t know if I’m brave enough, or smart enough, or remarkable enough to make a difference too, but I do know that I would like to try. My ultimate career goal, is to work in the field of Public History, to ensure more inclusive diverse stories are presented to the public, be that through museums, in entertainment, or through the national curriculum. I truly don’t believe there are enough stories about queer/trans/BAME/female people in the mainstream narrative of history, and that desperately needs to change. It would be an honour to be a part of this change, and what’s more, I really do think I could be valuable contributor to this. I know Public History, I’ve studied it and embraced and I think I have great ideas about how to make it more inclusive, and more diverse. It is now merely a case of getting the hell on with it.
So there, I’ve put it out in the universe and now I have to follow through. My goal is to make an impact on people’s lives and I want to do that using the study of history. We cannot underestimate how important it is to know there were others like us in the past, others who felt our struggle, and went through our experiences. It is paramount that everyone can know their history, and Public History is a wonderful way to do this. I want a career that focuses in on that, and makes impactful, importance progress.
What about you? How do you plan to make the mountain taller for people who come after you? Leave a comment below and let me know!
molly-anne bc 