Inauguration day scared the shit out of me even though I knew it was coming. At the Women's March in Los Angeles I witnessed 750,000 distressed families, friends, and allies standing unified. Being a 16-year-old, I have never in my life felt so accepted and appreciated as I did on Saturday. Nobody questioned my age because I was one of many minors not OK with having a misogynistic, racist, and fascist man as our president, and we're not OK feeling like we don't have full control and safety when it comes to our bodies. But I am not nearly as scared anymore, instead I have begun channeling that fear into fuel for this fire that won't go out until our freedom and rights are respected. We fought and will continue to fight, for this cannot be the height of our resistance.
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On Saturday I marched with two of my best friends, Alithea and Izzy. It's really exciting to be surrounded by peers who are just as passionate about making change as I am. People assume that teenagers don't care about this stuff because we can't vote, but that's just not true. Given that this was my first time protesting, my first time actively contributing to something I unapologetically stand for, I was apprehensive. I wasn't sure what to expect, but was thoroughly surprised by the peacefulness of the protest. This was the first election year that I've really paid attention and what a time to start. Initially this election was super important to me because I thought this would be the year our first woman president would be elected, but now engaging with what's going on with politics in America is important to me for another reason entirely: this is the time to use my voice and demand that it's heard. I will not let our generation inherit his mess without doing something about it. The night that Trump was elected, I lost all hope, but the women's march on Saturday filled me with more ambition than I've ever felt.
As a musician, I am granted a platform and an amplified voice. As an adolescent female in music, I believe that it's my duty to not only speak up for myself, but for others who feel like they are not or won't be heard. But their voice is just as essential as mine. Even though I may have access to a larger outlet, a collective voice is bigger and much more persuasive than any musician or artist standing alone. I try and express these ideas in my lyrics. I write music what is super personal, but also universal. Since I care a lot about politics, sometimes that will appear in my music without me even realizing it. For me, being personal is being political.
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From the moment we reached downtown LA and started seeing pussy hats and compelling signs, my eyes welled up. As we made our way towards City Hall the first arresting sign I encountered was held up by a gorgeous woman who looked to be about 20-25. She stood still in the middle of the street with her arms above her head holding a placard stating: "If I wanted politics in my vagina, I'd fuck a senator." Her eyes were filled with rage and strength: it was the perfect sight to start off an empowering day. The second sign that stood out for me was made by an older man, maybe in his late 40s, which read, "I owe my life to a woman." He was the first of many men, of all ages, marching for their mothers, sisters, and daughters. It was a breathtaking sight, and one I wasn't expecting, but boy, I was so happy to be wrong. Another aspect of the march that surprised me was the number of kids holding signs. I just kept thinking about how cool their parents must be for teaching them at such a young age about what's important and how to take a stand. Seeing a little boy with a sign in his own handwriting stating that, "Trump is mean" was when my pent up tears began to pour. Usually crying around thousands of strangers would make me uncomfortable, however in this moment crying was not a sign of weakness, but a sign of courage. The day was summed up best by a couple I briefly spoke to, Debbie and Greg Cahill, both 67 years of age. I asked them why they decided to take part in today's march and Greg put it perfectly: "A multiplicity of horrors brought us here. The devastation of Hillary not winning and the horror of Trump winning, who is a sociopath."
The worldwide women's march was an impressive start to a long ass battle, the scale of it worldwide, something I can barely comprehend. My experience at the LA arm of the march was unbelievably beautiful and one of the most inspiring days of my life. But we have to make sure that Saturday is only the beginning of our peaceful and ongoing insurrection and not the end. We must not be afraid of being loud because the only way change is made is when we are deafening. For me this weekend's overwhelming takeaway was something I've never believed until now: there's a lot more love out there than there is hate.Lydia Night is the lead singer of The Regrettes. Listen to them on Soundcloud.