On Thursday, Oct. 19 from 8-10 p.m., women from across Union’s campus gathered at Barefoots for Stand Up For Your Sister, an annual Residence Life event designed to unite girls by being vulnerable about difficulties they face in life.
Heavy emotions often hinder a sense of community in times of darkness. Every year at Stand Up For Your Sister, women speak up about issues associated with body image, grief, addiction, brokenness and more.
The practice of standing up at this event attempts to dismantle feelings of isolation and shame while encouraging girls to use struggles as a means for growth and community. Student-led worship commenced the event, preparing hearts for the rest of the evening.
By means of sharing personal hardships, a panel of woman leaders across campus created a connection with the audience. Through full transparency, they maintained a sense of ease and authenticity throughout the room.
The panel for the evening consisted of Fran Thomas, assistant director in the Vocatio Center, Rebecca Holloway, director of the EDGE Program, and Mo Sparks, student residence advisor (RA).
Fran Thomas, sharing her testimony with the crowd, advocated for opening up to others about struggles.
“And don’t, don’t be afraid of the hard part of doing the hard work to be who it is the Lord has called you to be. And forgive yourself. Be kind to yourself. It’s a journey,” Thomas said. “The scars are there. It’s still painful, but I’m so much better off than I was. Because of people, because of the Lord.”
Authenticity is difficult to gauge, especially with fluctuating trends on social media platforms. Recently, the trend of being a “girl’s girl” has circulated the media. A term coined for “being there” for your girls, being a “girl’s girl” emphasizes the value in extending honesty, advice or a listening ear.
Even though trends like these emerge, why is it still so difficult to connect? The roots of this trend are modeled at this event.
After the panelists shared their stories, RA’s handed out an anonymous survey of burdens that women often face. Answered surveys were taken back up and randomly given out across the room, leading up to the peak of the event.
On the stage, Gailey Hollingsworth, assistant residence director of the women’s quads, read off each struggle on the list. Across the room, women stood up according to what their sisters marked they identified with. For some of the points, nearly everyone in the room stood.
Junior English major Evelyn Halla made a comment about the power of solidarity.
“I think that Stand Up For Your Sister can help build a sense of connection around campus and help women feel less alone,” Halla said. “While at the event, I realized how many different women have gone through the same things.”
A room filled with women synchronously rising and falling according to their struggles is not only an exercise in awareness, but silent affirmations of “me too” and “I’m fighting alongside you.”
Though there are no hard and fast models, being a girl’s girl seems to mirror exposing personal afflictions not only for the sake of personal healing but for the healing of others walking the same paths.
This event is just that: uniting as sisters in Christ through extending an outstretched arm, bridging divides caused by various kinds of pain. Near the end of the event, moments of silence allowed for reflective journaling, writing words of encouragement and sticky note prayers.
