Who I am, and How and Why I Write
I have embarked on a journey unlike any I’ve been faced with before. A journey begins with a single step… right? Well, here I go. Hello and Good Vibes. My name is Lauren M. Hannigan. I was born under the sun sign Aries and my yin sign is Leo (if you’re unfamiliar with astrology, this means my personality is fire-y, very proud, and I love to be the center of attention). I study Literature and Women’s Studies (I like to call it Chick Lit) at California State University, Long Beach. Louisville, home to the Kentucky Derby and Hunter S. Thompson, was where I was born and raised. I attended Assumption High School — a girl’s school like no other. I always dreamed about being able to escape and go to college in California; through some miracle — I actually got the opportunity to go! Louisville consumes the right side of my heart; Long Beach consumes the left.
Assumption is where I became interested in the field of Women’s Studies. The Assumption Rocket’s have a passion for education, going green, social justice, and blossoming young women of integrity and equality. Assumption introduced me to feminism (I don’t think it would be inaccurate to say a good majority of the teachers are hardcore feminists). I read Woolf, Plath, hooks, de Beauvoir, Ibsen, Atwood, and many other classic Writers of Womanhood — and fell in love with the cause. I am a Feminist — this is a title I wear with pride.
I want to be a writer. Poetry spills from my soul — I try to write a poem a day. Sometimes it turns out to be a haiku. I want to write books about Feminist Theory, social justice, yoga, and politics. All of those topics do intersect oddly enough. Reproductive Justice, the topic of this blog in particular, is a perfect puzzle piece to the topics I have a forte in. I’m excited to expand my knowledge and my worldview.
I write about what I know and how I feel about knowing such things. I believe knowledge is power. Through the things I write, I pray for the ability to educate, entertain and inform. I want to change the world through my words, and I think I can.
I was invited to attend a Reproductive Justice Leadership Institution of Choice USA at my school last year and met the Cal State Long Beach Choice USA club. I soon learned it was a very tiny club rich with passion and talent. Today the club has just three members. We recently renamed the club Choice at the Beach. Vanessa, Kanaan, and I traveled to Denver this summer together for the Regional Conference of Choice USA. I’m excited to get to know this pair of extraordinary individuals this year — they have taught me so much already.
When the application for Student Correspondent team came out — I was thrilled at the opportunity presented before me. It seemed almost too good to be true. I applied and got the gig. I spent the next few weeks thinking it must be a dream – writing about Reproductive Justice professionally? Incredible. I am so grateful for this opportunity, you really have no idea. I’m going to give this blog all that I’ve got.
The topic of this blog is Reproductive Justice. This is a topic I will define and explore further in my next weeks posting. Sexuality is a vital part of the human experience. Thus, Reproductive Justice is a loaded issue and prevalent in every decision we make.
Other topics that intersect beautifully with Reproductive Justice and I plan to discuss include: vegetarianism, self-sufficiency, sustainable living, animal rights, Feminist Theory, Astrology, Theology/”God Language”, and Chick Lit. I vow to be a writer of facts, truth, and integrity. I vow to not bore you to death, as well.
Walt Whitman is one of my favorite writers. His poem “O Me! O Life!” asks what the point of life and living is. It ends in saying this, “That you are here – that life exists, and identity; That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.”
To all of the great Chick Lit writers of the past: I pray that this can be my verse.
