We are halfway through our Emerge training here in Massachusetts and I have to confess, it’s what is not taught in the curriculum that has impacted me most.
I don’t remember any of our trainers directly speaking to this issue. Nowhere is it clearly defined on the website, and I am absolutely positive we don’t have any handouts on how it works. But I am beginning to get it.
This sisterhood.
The word sis•ter•hood is defined as the feeling of kinship with and closeness to a group of women or all women. In my class, our common bond is strengthened through countless conversations and confessions. For me personally, this whacky concept of maybe someday running for office is deeply personal. Yet I have learned so much more about myself by verbalizing these aspirations over the past 3 months to my Emerge classmates.
Proof of this magical force is evident in our dealings with one another. A few ladies in my class are running for local office and I watch as other classmates selflessly commit to support their candidacies. They are collecting signatures, raising money, holding signs, and making calls. Whatever it takes. It literally goes without saying that we are here to help one another, forever.
We are beginning to truly understand that our collective unity is stronger than any one of us. We now know that if we are in it to win it, we need each other and I make a commitment to stand with these women: my classmates, my sisters.
Chandra J. Allard
Emerge Massachusetts
Class of 2012