My View Of The Power Of Woman
The hands of the clock have passed 12. 096 times since I was born. But, it’s only recently I become aware the meaning My mother comes home from work at 5: 30 every day. Being raised by a single mother, I learned to embrace and appreciate the power of woman. Growing up with a strong role model like her, I encountered the vivid realization that although people label those outside their own circle as the “others” and create walls, resulting in prejudice and intolerance, we still had the strength to enhance the society.
Taking with me her visions, my friends and I decided to design and built a robotic hand that translates sign language into visual cues and sounds by the help of a small screen and a speaker. With our product we established to find a common language of experience that would unite hearing impaired people with people who don’t know sign language. We were recognized for our achievement in making a change, at our school. However, for some people there was a red flag: I was the only girl standing next to 7 boys and I was wearing my cheerleading team sweatshirt. Hearing people’s “encouraging” comments, I thought of my aspirations: “Ten years from now, I want the gender balance to change, the timid girls in the bleachers to be replaced by fearless women who are undaunted by society’s confining expectations ”. Then I believe girls on robotics teams will not be the exception to the unspoken rule. Since I was 8 years old, my dog “Toto” waited for me in front of our door at 7: 30, wagging his tail. I remember that my engagement in community started with him. During our walks, I always made sure to have enough food and snacks with me to feed the stray dogs living on our street.
Then, we would walk past and meet new people everyday. Some were from Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, some wore hijab, kippa, or cross necklaces. But despite their diverse backgrounds one thing was common: they all shared a common soil. My grandmother who is an orthodox Armenian, always cherished to talk about the rich soil İzmir has. Soil that has benefited many civilizations and has become more influential as more societies crossed over it. Our Mediterranean soil, had once accommodated Ancient Greek philosophers, Persians, Romans and Ottomans; thus it nurtures many cultures within it. That’s why in Izmir, I believe I grew up in a diverse, welcoming, open-minded community with a long and unique history; every time Toto and I walk together we meet people who inquire, think differently, creatively, who are eager to challenge oppressive notions. Every weekend at 9: 30 in the morning I gained unforgettable experiences at the Ege Artı Special Education center for the disabled students. I acquired the knowledge that true accomplishments in life involve making a difference in someone’s life. That’s when with the help of my dance team members, I decided to start a project with the students there. They taught us how to bake chocolate chip cookies, and we taught them how to dance. As our bond increased I wanted add on to our memories. Learning how to express or release my emotions through paintings was a way for me to see beauty in places it didn’t exist.
Therefore, I wanted to share my experiences with them. While I taught them how to turn their difficulties into butterflies, they expanded my empathy, helped me mature and better acknowledge differences. Together we learned that the only boundaries between people are those we create. I hope that one day I will empower other young girls and boys as agents of social change, and serve the life of more individuals with disabilities. The truth is that someday the clock will stop ticking for us and when that time comes, I want to be remembered by the contributions I made to my community and.
