Stormy

My name is Stormy and I am a twenty-one year old Native American woman. I am currently in college in Florida, and I am majoring in social work. When I graduate I will go on to pursue a masters’ degree in the field of clinical social work. I am currently the secretary for a wonderful organization in Florida that addresses women’s abortion needs. We raise money to help low income women of all ages to receive the same reproductive services as those who can afford them. I am very interested in working with young women and children as well.

During my infrequent spare time, I love to read, a lot. I recently expanded my literary horizons and began reading up on my spiritual and ethnic ancestry. I am very interested in learning everything I can about where I came from and what my ancestors represented. I work a lot, a lot being anywhere from 25-35 hours per week, and I try to take on new volunteer opportunities. I feel blessed to be a new member of MySistahs and hope to help many young women find answers to their questions.
I believe the main factor which spawned my newfound interest in reproductive rights was when I changed my major from psychology to social work. I am a strong believer that everyone has a purpose and a place here on earth. I woke up one day to the realization that psychology was not the field for me; social work was where I belonged. Once I changed my major, it seemed everything fell into place.
During my first semester of college, I took an awesome class in diversity, taught by the founder and president of the organization I work with. One of my fellow classmates was a new member of the organization and she recruited me to be a part of it.
This also brought me to take on a 30-hour training session on being an advocate for a local shelter for battered women. This opened my eyes to so much more. After the training, I found myself most comfortable working at my county courthouse in the Injunction Assistance Office. At the courthouse, we help many people feel safer by helping then to file for an order of protection (a restraining order).

This past year of my life has also been deeply affected by my new awareness of the importance of being a woman and standing up for what I believe in. It is not enough to say I believe in something, I must stand up and make my voice heard, and this means voting and letting people know where I stand and why.

I am interested in helping with everything. I have a thirteen year old sister, and I realize how important issues such as self-esteem and education are to her growth. It is very important to teach young people, especially girls, at an early age how beautiful they are on the inside, and to encourage them to decide what is truly important for them, not what society places on them. I think we, as women, need to take charge of our future and do whatever it takes to ensure that the next generation does not have to fight the same battles we are fighting now.

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