Women have always played a vital part throughout history. Their voices, both heard and unheard, show us where we have been and where we are going. Too often, the voices of women and their contributions have been silenced or forgotten. Yet it is important, now more than ever, that we hear these voices- their wisdom, experiences, triumphs, and trials- so that we can not only learn from them, but also allow their voices to help us grow into ourselves and to contribute to our communities. Hearing-- deeply listening to and sincerely allowing their voices to resonate--reminds us that these women faced some of the same challenges we face, cried some of the same tears we cry, felt the pain of loss, the love of life, the fear, the joy. Although the times and places in which they lived may be vastly different from ours, our shared humanity is more similar than we often realize. We all want our voices to be heard. While we often learn of significant women in history--Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks--we too frequently are not as aware of the unheard voices, women whose voices were muffled or erased. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we want to share some of these voices with you, and hope that their voices will teach you something about yourself and the world we share.
14th-16th Centuries
When we think about women during the Middle Ages, we usually think of women living under patriarchal norms trying to survive the Black Death or, if they were a princess, being married off to make an alliance! In reality, there were many Medieval women who had quite a lot to say. Julian of Norwich (1342-1416) is one of these women. Julian wrote the first work in English by a woman (that we know of at this point). She was an English Christian mystic and in her work, Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich beautifully shares her beliefs on her faith and the many questions people of faith still ask today--what is it to know God and why does evil exist? One of her most well known writings, "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well," reminds us that we can move forward in the most challenging of circumstances and that joy exists, even in the midst of struggle. Interestingly, Julian of Norwich’s real name is lost to us. In fact, her name is taken from St. Julian’s Church where she lived. Both Julian of Norwich and another influential European writer, Christine de Pizan (1364-1430, Book of the City of Ladies), speculate on why women were not given a voice even though women were just as capable as men with communicating their ideas. At around the same time these two remarkable women were writing, another significant female voice in a completely different part of the world was also voicing her thoughts on faith. Mira Bai was a 16th century Hindu poet and mystic in the Bhakti tradition who lived in India. In her poems, Mira Bai wrote of her personal relationship with her God, expressing her faith and love of God by comparing it to the love shared between a mother and child or a friend for a friend--relationships we continue to understand and appreciate. She also challenged the social norms of her time, often choosing not to conform to the expectations of being a Rajput princess!
Late 17th to 18th Century
Some of the major developments between the 17th and 18th centuries are the American Revolution and the Enlightenment. Prominent figures range from Thomas Paine, George Washington, King George III, Jean-Jacque Rousseau, and John Locke. However, when both events come to mind, among the countless names that immediately spring to one’s mind it is likely that none of them are women, yet there are many women who have made significant contributions to both. The American Revolution is characterized by folklore that commonly centers around one Paul Revere- the brave man who rode to warn the American forces against possible British attacks. However, most people are unaware that he “wasn’t the only one on the midnight ride.” In fact, he should be sharing the spotlight with a 16 year old girl. Sybil Ludington is known as the female Paul Revere, yet it is important to beg the question if he should be named the female Sybil Ludington because she did so in far more dangerous conditions while also riding twice as long. She never did get the recognition she deserved, especially considering the fact that men such as Paul Revere did the same exact thing--yet she did it better.
Furthermore, the Enlightenment holds some of the greatest minds in European history- including Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797). She was an advocate for education equality and opportunities to women which at the time was drastic and unheard of; hence, why she is to some considered the founder of feminism. Ultimately, in her novel A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) she emphasizes the importance of a female education while also addressing the hypocrisies of her colleagues such as the sexist and conformist views of Jean-Jacque Rousseau who believed women did not deserve equality with men. Additionally, throughout her life, she faced additional challenges being a single mother, having mental health issues, and the challenges of being a female writer when being a female anything was considered unacceptable.
19th Century
By the time of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution was reshaping society and some women found themselves in a position to challenge traditional women’s roles while making a difference in the lives of those around them. One such woman is Mary Seacole (c. 1805-1881), a woman of color born in Jamaica, a British colony at the time. Seacole was quite the adventurer. In her book, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands(one of the first travel books written by black woman),she describes her sense of adventure and spirit of wanderlust! On her travels to Britain, the Caribbean, and Central America, she encountered many who were suffering and dying from cholera. In Panama, she began to treat cholera patients using knowledge she had gained from her Creole mother and doctors who had stayed at her mother’s boarding house in Jamaica. On her return from Panama, Mary Seacole heard about the Crimean War, and after returning to Panama to finalize her business there and go prospecting for gold, she tried to gain a position as a British nurse in the Crimean War. Initially, she was not able to gain the position; however, she didn’t let obstacles stand in her way, opting instead to travel to the Crimea to open a hotel. Once there, she found herself treating soldiers and providing comfort to the dying. At the time, Seacole’s adventures were just as well known as Florence Nightingale, who was well-known during the Crimean War as the “Lady with the Lamp,” while Mary Seacole was known as the “Creole with the Tea Mug.” Yet, over time Seacole’s voice is less well known (outside of Jamaica and Britain) while Nightingale continues to be recognized, rightfully, as the founder of modern nursing. While Mary Seacole didn’t earn a medical degree, she nevertheless made a difference in the lives of the men she treated. Her determination, entrepreneurial spirit, and sense of adventure remind us that her voice is a voice worth learning from.
20th Century to the Modern Day in Age
One of the most prominent events during the 20th century, an event to which its effect and discussion is still prominent in modern day, is the Civil Rights Movement. To hear of the Civil Rights Movement is to hear of MLK and Malcolm X. And to hear of women is to hear of Rosa Parks. Although all these individuals were crucial to the movement, it is important to note that there are women who played major roles in cultivating its development whose names are left unheard. One of these names is Rev. Dr. Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray. One of the most prominent cases of this movement was Brown v Board of Education (1954) to which the Supreme Court called for the desegregation of schools while overruling the decision of Plessy v Fergeson which stated that segregation was allowed as long as it was “equal.” Pauli wrote about the issues within the decision of Plessy v Ferguson in her book, States’ Laws on Race and Color, in 1950. Additionally, she was the co-founder of the National Organization for Women and was a prominent activist. Ultimately, without her writings, it is possible to speculate that the foundational Supreme Court case of the Civil Rights Movement, Brown v Board of Education, could have had much more severe and detrimental outcomes. Furthermore, the story of Emmett Till is a story that reflects the thoroughly gut-wrenching and tragic results of the word of a white person against an African American. This story is one where a boy of only fourteen years was brutally beaten and murdered, to the point where his face was unrecognizable, because two white men claimed he “wolf-whistled” at a white woman walking by. His casket was open for the world to see. His story is no longer hidden by false pretenses. To walk by and see his mangled body is something most could hardly swallow, but imagine to be in the place of the women who gave him life- to see him enter into death before his proper time. Mamie Till Mobley went through one of the most difficult challenges a person can face--grieving the loss of a child, yet she did so with his casket open and everyone walking by. She did this to ensure that her son and what he went through would not be forgotten, instead of choosing a less heart-wrenching memorial. His story is one that, ultimately, is responsible for the cultivation of change as people truly saw the horrors of racism and ideals of white supremacy in the South, but without her, his story would have remained untold. She fought for justice, she fought for equality, she fought for her son even when his murderers walked. Even when racial injustice continued. Even when she had to bury her teenage son. Yet throughout it all she continued to say “I have not spent one minute hating;” instead, she spent it all fighting.
A s a freshman in college, I often stayed up all night to study. I was new to studying as I had never truly had to do it before, so I started thinking if I crammed as much as possible the night before a test, I would be successful. I quickly realized I was wrong. I had never tried before, and As and Bs just kind of happened, but in college, I realized I was trying and the Bs were more difficult to come by.
I started taking a psychology class in my second semester, and the teacher discussed how sleep restores the mind and helps us store information properly. This professor really harped on the necessity of getting at least 8 hours of sleep, and she kept saying that if we studied but didn't sleep afterward, everything we learned might not store correctly in our minds. At this point, I knew I needed to do pretty much anything to improve my grades because my current strategy of cramming wasn't working. I started to try my own experiment on myself.
Truly, my only rule was to get at least 8 hours of sleep. I tried to set a routine of going to bed around 10 and getting up around 6. It proved extremely successful. I knew I had to go to bed at 10, so I spaced out more of my studies and my assignments. I had a more positive outlook and felt more emotionally stable. There were so many benefits. (Spoiler alert: I made almost all As after this shift.)
This is the point where I start to try to convince you to do the same. Students simply do not sleep enough, and I think that is exacerbated by numerous issues: pressure to get better grades, pressure to respond to every message, and the constant entertainment and technology at our fingertips. However, if we want to be more emotionally stable and we truly do want to prioritize our grades, we need to be sleeping more.
The average teenager gets around 7 hours of sleep but needs at least 9 hours of sleep a night ("Sleep in Adolescents"). If you think about that, it means that adolescents are losing 14 hours of restorative rest for their minds and bodies in a single week, and that's the average student only. The average of 7 hours is actually more than my anecdotal research in my classes, and I'd venture that the average hours of sleep for upperclassmen is even lower as the pressure of colleges gets even higher.
According to the Sleep Foundation, students need sleep as their brains develop, affecting thinking and achievement, emotional health, physical health and development, risky behavior and decision-making, and accidents and injuries.
So, now that you're convinced you need to sleep more, what can you do?
Set a schedule and try to stick with it, even on weekends.
Try to make the schedule centered around 8 hours of sleep per night.
Follow a bedtime routine that encourages rest and relaxation before bed.
Avoid electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bed. (Maybe choose a book to read, but that's my bias showing.)
Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
Go outside in the morning to get some sunlight as soon as you wake up, and watch the sun go down at night. (You can talk to your Bio teachers about this, but it does seem to help your body set a healthy sleeping rhythm.)
Now that testing season is beginning, start prioritizing sleep so that the review you do in class will store in your mind and be easy to access on test day. But more than for testing, prioritize sleep so that you can get the rest you deserve.
Sources Pacheco, Danielle. “Sleep for Teenagers.” Sleep Foundation, 1 March 2023, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/teens-and-sleep. Accessed 15 March 2023. “Sleep in Adolescents.” Nationwide Children's, https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/sleep-disorder-center/sleep-in-adolescents. Accessed 15 March 2023.