the moment it became real

A photo posted by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Jul 26, 2016 at 4:08pm PDT

I’m not here to talk about politics.

I’m here to talk about pride. And possibility.

I’m here to talk about the fact that tonight, at 33 years old, I was lucky enough to bear witness to Hillary Rodham Clinton becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major political party.

I was lucky enough to watch the delegate roll call at the Democratic National Convention and hear countless people refer to Secretary Clinton as the “next President of the United States.”

As a woman, as a feminist, as a human who believes in equality, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, a smile that came from deep inside my soul. Because suddenly the fairy tale we had all been told since elementary school—the magical story of little girls in America growing up to be president—became a real possibility.

I felt emotional watching the DNC, but it wasn’t until I opened Instagram an hour later and saw the above picture of America Ferrera and Lena Dunham that the weight of this historic nomination hit me.

Here were two women, close to me in age, who have an endless list of talents, awards and successes in their own right. Two women who, like me and so many others, grew up hearing that we could become president—even though there was zero proof of this. Two women who, like me and so many others, still deal with sexism and misogyny in both their professional and personal lives. Two women who, like me and so many others, have taken big and small steps in our own lives to put cracks in that proverbial glass ceiling.

Two women who, like me and so many others, allowed this moment to hit them where it matters most—right in the heart.

For them, and for me, the tears flowed easily. And they flowed with purpose.

Because from this day forward, little girls won’t just look at the presidency as wishful thinking or a pipe dream. It won’t just be something moms and dads tell their daughters to keep them from feeling like less than their male counterparts. It won’t just be a fictional story line in a children’s book or television script.

Tonight, a fairy tale began to feel real.

Tonight, a daughter, mother and grandmother made history.

And tonight, for me (and for millions of girls and women), Clinton officially became a real-life, kick-ass American heroine.

 

Author: Nicole Cameron

Image: Lena Dunham/Instagram