the young women are waking up

from an email i just opened:

dear christa bell,
i have never met you. trust me though, when i say i have so much to
thank
you for this summer. i saw you perform earlier this year at western
washington university, where i am a student of creative writing. you
shared
your poem "the too much," and it was the first time a performance of
any
kind has brought tears to my eyes. at that moment, although i was
awestruck,
i had no idea i would be referring back to it for comfort so many
times.
fast forward several months, and like many 21 year old women, i had
forgotten that a man's actions are only a reflection of himself, and
not a
reflection of the woman he is directing them towards. at many times
this
summer, i was tempted to call a particular man asking him why i wasn't
enough. but i made a deal with myself: everytime i wanted to pick up
the
phone, i would listen to "the too much" and if i still wanted to make
the
call i could. i never called. just knowing that even women as talented
as
yourself are not immune to these feelings, makes me stronger. "the too
much"
has allowed me to respect myself more as a woman, and appreciate the
fact
that saturation is found in everything i do. thank you for that. i am
also
really excited because my college is offering a slam poetry class this
quarter. it will be interesting. that is for sure.
~christina

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