Diana Peña |
Growing up in an old school Dominican househould isn't always easy. Although I have an older brother that's supposed to "look out for me," I do most of the looking out because he's a man and I'm a girl. I have to do what a girl does, ya know.. cook, clean and all that. Hi, I'm Diana. I go by my first name but my family calls me Nana. I live in Brownsville, Brooklyn, which in people's eyes is the worst neighborhood. Living in the hood, let alone in a Dominican house, has been very challenging. I was told to stand up for myself whenever it applied but I didn't do so. I was so shy and quiet growing up and that's the total oppisite of my family and my neighborhood. It was a shame: a girl from the hood who couldn't stand up for herself even if her life depended on it. In high school though, I had to become independent. My best friend, Bryanna, queer woman, opened my eyes and mind and made me realize that the world isn't full with "he's and she's." Bryanna and I started talking about the struggle a lot, especially for people of color. We've transformed silence into action and can get the freedom we deserve. |
The transformation of silence to language and action is a powerful transformation that can change the world forever. Vulnerability is something that many of us struggle with, but never overcome because we are afraid. Sometimes we may think that what we are going to say might offend other people. But those are the same people that offend you every day, so you shouldn’t hide your words. What is important to you must be spoken because you never know if another person is feeling the same way and needs you to say your truth.
Growing up, I was a shy child. I never spoke to anyone in my school or class. I went to go school and went straight home every day. But I was somehow still the main target for being bullied. I would cry at home and my brother would tell me to not let the girls and boys talk about me and stand up for myself but I was too afraid. I would say the things I would want to say to them in my head but never out loud. A girl in my class named Darleanne stood up for me when she saw the other kids making fun of me. She feared no one and was so confident about herself. Darleanne was bullied too but she made a brave move I couuld not see myself doing at the time. Darleanne’s transformation is an example of what minorities who are afraid to speak up need to be. You’re sick and tired of being treated differently because of the color of your skin, the neighborhood you live in, your gender or what you identify as? Then speak up.
In Audre Lorde's "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action," she shows us how it is vitally necessary for each one of us to establish or examine our roles as vital: "Tell how you're never really a whole person if you remain silent because there's always that one little piece inside you that wants to be spoken out, and if you keep ignoring it, it gets and madder and hotter and hotter, and if you don’t speak it out one day it will just up and punch you in the mouth from the inside" (Lorde, 42). We can use our fear in a form of power to gain strength in speaking out and being visible.
It is necessary to share and spread words that are meaningful to us, words that we must hear everyday in order to commit to a non-silent life. Imagine if we all lived life in silence. Women/ people of color/ LGBTQ communities would’ve never have freedom. The courageous actions taken by certain people taught us to live without fear. Like Lorde tells us, we have lived through all of those already, in silence, except death” (Lorde,43). Although we still suffer some kind of judgement and scrutiny, we still have the freedom of speaking up for one another and being each other’s voices in times of despair. There are so many silences that must be broken.
References
Lorde, Audre. 1984. The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Retrieved from http://www.csusm.edu/sjs/documents/silenceintoaction.pdf.