Sienna+R’s+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech

I am emotional am woman. Whether it’s tears, manic explosions, or my vociferous laugh. I can promise that today, you most definitely won’t see or hear any of the sorts except…. maybe my laugh. I am emotional. That is what I am known as, let’s be real here. I express my emotions freely, yes. Sometimes obnoxiously even. I am the one who can never keep her mouth shut in a discussion or ever really. The one with a sob story that you never want to bring up and let loose, because it’s dangerous as if it’s a wild animal that could bite you at any moment. But surprisingly my friends, I do not see the word emotional in a negative connotation, although it might be intended for describing one of my sex. Yes, the moment women in any part of the world today that has something meaningful to say whether through tears, laughter, or just a heavy discussion they are described as emotionally unstable, on the rag, rabid bitch, or my personal favorite, crazy. Yet the moment a man shows signs of similar expression, he is called passionate, sensitive, and certainly in touch with his emotions.
 * Unapologetic **

But when one is described as emotional whether male, female, or somewhere in between they should see that as flattering compliment. Here, let me explain my reasoning. You can probably tell that I am more passionate about certain topics in comparison to others. It’s obvious that I have personal experiences with these situations. Like; my lost friend whom suffered with mental illness, the scarred tissue on my body, my immigrant father, my homophobic grandparents, and my mother’s boyfriend who had pedophile actions towards myself for several months. Sorry, this just got heavy. But don’t worry you won’t get bit! But I feel so strongly and I am sooo “emotional” because I know what it’s like, to be at your lowest low, to feel discriminated against, or to be silenced. The most compassionate and emotional people who decide to be activists for their cause always have a personal file packed away or for everyone to see, that sparks the fire into their wave of passion. It doesn’t need to be as heavy as mine per say, but it is always there. This is why I feel like the word emotional should not be taken as an insult, regarding anyone. Real people who have had to go through difficult situations are privileged. Yes, I just said privileged. Maybe I am wrong, maybe I am forced to see the bright side of things due to my circumstances. But, because of the difficult things that certain people go through it makes them more susceptible to feeling. The type of feeling that is raw, genuine, and undeniably realer than what the average high schooler experiences. I was once taught a lesson that pertained to this specific topic, in Kindred’s. Do you guys remember? The one where we talked about light and dark in the Scarlet Letter? How one cannot truly appreciate the light unless they’ve experienced darkness. Well, that’s why I think people who have been to hell and back are truly privileged. They genuinely appreciate when things are going the way they should be, because they know what it’s like to have them go in the completely opposite direction. This is why they are more emotional, passionate, sentimental, expressive, and ultimately more appreciative. That's why I refuse to say sorry for shedding a tear, laughing too loud, even the occasional explosion. I will not apologize for being human.

So what kind of an America do I want to live young and grow wiser in? An America where males and females alike are respected for their passion, in any sense of expression. That the validity of their words and movement is not discredited due to the delivery of their emotions. That the word “emotional” is no longer seen as an insult, or another way to call someone weak, but seen as a badge of honor. That people stop apologizing for feeling, people being unapologetic for being emotional. Thank you.

Just Chillin! Whatta DAY, eh?