A little imagination goes a long way

Kamala Harris made history yesterday. 
She is the first Madame Vice President.
The first woman to hold that office. 
The first woman of color.
The first asian woman.
The first black woman.
The list goes on. 

I had mixed feelings tuning into the inauguration and bearing witness to history. Witnessing the crossing of a huge threshold inspired me. There will never be another moment where a woman has not held that office. That will create a massive imprint on all the young girls in this country and those who have yet to be born. Their paradigm for what is possible has forever shifted. What was once out of reach is now possible. 

I also found myself grieving for the positions and opportunities that have yet to cross that threshold. How many firsts remain to be claimed and celebrated. Where women and women of color have yet to be represented. And what that means for the dreams of our youth. 

So much of our country’s systems still run on archaic rules created by men. And are backed by implicit and explicit policies that uphold those systems. And leave women out. 

Yet when I sit with the grief that emerges in acknowledging all those vacancies, bits of hope shine through the darkness. I honor the imagination required to seek and pursue any opportunity as the first of anything.

It made me wonder about the imagination that lives inside of Kamala. What was the first spark of her imagination that led her all the way to her swearing in yesterday? 

In absence of having someone look like her hold that office, she had to use her imagination. To dream of something she had never seen before. Zooming out, I am giddy thinking about all the women in this country sparking their imagination. The beginnings of things that women have yet to birth into the world. That is the super power of women in this country. And the thing no system can steal away from women. 

I want to ask Kamala if she imagined the way the inaugural carpet would feel against the point of her high heel? Did she imagine the way it would feel to place her hand upon a bible that no woman has touched? Did she imagine the sound of the words “Madame Vice President” rolling off newscasters tongues? Did she imagine the smell of the flowers in the rose garden as she walked the grounds discussing our country's most pressing business? 

I hope so. Not to steal the joy of those moments away from her when they actually happen. But because I believe that when a woman dares to build an image in her mind so specific, so powerful, no outdated system can stop her. 

What we want for all women is to let their imagination run wild.

Imagination will also help us do the existing things differently. In ways the world desperately needs. The goal is more than just achieving the position, but daring to imagine that women can execute it differently.

Shine On,
Alicia