The Power of Your Voice: Reigniting The Fire Within
“You’re not my mom!” I exclaimed to my not-much-older-than-me titi Mely who was babysitting my 9-year-old self. “I’m telling your mom.” she spat out. I was a good kid, known for taking up permanent residence on the honor roll list, but my mouth? It was always something that would “get me in trouble”. I didn’t know it yet, but this voice of mine, this power I held within would be silenced for years to come. Tucked away on a shelf deep into my soul, waiting for the chance to finally be set free.
This is the reality that so many of us Latinas face. We’re socially-known as being vibrant, passionate, loud, and proud. Yet within the confines of our homes, we are expected to be quiet, to be predictable, and to be “good”. What does “good” really even mean? When a child is praised for activities she is told she is “good” at, that becomes her sole identity and everything else that was not acknowledged gets kicked to the curb. You know this good and well because you were told that you were good at math and science, or maybe English and history, but nothing of true sustenance. Nothing that was curated from the genuine talents of your innermost being. So, even though you loved playing with dolls and playing dress up with your sister, one day you chose to stop doing those activities. One day you actively chose to conform to society, your family, and the “real world” instead of your dreams, your play, and your joy.
Tough stuff to digest, huh? To think we were so young and had the weight of the world riding on our shoulders to decide such a powerful decision, is baffling. The moment I dropped the dolls, stopped writing short stories, stopped singing along to my horribly recorded Fergie “Big Girls Don’t Cry” ringtone on my Motorola, that was the moment I put my voice to rest. And she would not be awakened, poked, or pulled out of hibernation until she had no choice but to.
What sets us free from the shackles of society, the expectations to be, and the resistance known as systemic oppression? It goes much deeper than we think. That battle cry I yelled at my titi, was a strength that I did not know that I carried. This strength had been embedded in me, my DNA, my roots, my blood, and my soul. It didn’t come from a 9-year-old child. It came from the sacrifices of my grandmother, a woman who spent her childhood hustling on the streets of Manhattan with her mami selling pasteles, hot dogs, and limbes. It came from my mom who pushed herself through school, hauled her butt all the way to from Providence to Boston every weekend while missing her children, but choosing to do it for the betterment of their future. That battlecry I had, it was not out of disrespect, anger, or resentment. It was a manifestation of the women who went before me, who were not able to choose their own circumstances, but at the very young age of 9, this was me choosing.
Choosing to use my voice. Choosing to exercise my ability to decide. Choosing to speak truth. Choosing to advocate for myself when it felt like the scales of righteousness were not tipped in my favor. This is the power we hold as Latinas and women of color. We hold a power that runs so deeply in our veins, that engulfs every strand of our hair, and invisibly freckles our faces. It is the power of speech. It is the power of our words. It is the super power we have held within us for centuries and there have been attempts to silence it for as long as history has recorded itself.
So, that little girl? She’s using her voice to empower both herself and others everyday. She runs a raw, unfiltered podcast called The Selfish Snob, she empowers women through workshops and speaking engagements, she coaches women to use take back their voices when they, too, were once silenced. Hell, she’s even writing this here article as we speak. She found her strengths, ignited them, and used them, not only through her own doing, but through the battlecries of the women who went before her. This is your R.E.B.E.L.LUTION. This is your power. Use it. Hone in on it. Never let it go, because the day you stop fighting for you, the day you stop creating the life you want to live, is the day that the fire of your ancestors gets put out.
Keep the fire going. Make change in this world. It needs you and it needs to hear you.
It’s time for your battlecry.
Author:
Dr. Onaysia Martinez, PT, DPT
Identity Liberation Coach
CEO of LUV U GURL Media & Co.
Leading Unprecedented Visions, Unifying Generations, & Uncovering Revolutionary Legacies
Podcast: The Selfish Snob LinkedIn: Dr. Onaysia Martinez TikTok: @DrOnaysiaMartinez
