On January 21, 2017, I got to do what I thought was part of this country’s past: I marched on Washington to fight for my rights as a woman and as a Jew, as well as the rights of all other “minority” groups.

In my junior year of high school, doing something this huge would have been unimaginable. Back then, I had a very narrow view of people who identified as feminists; all I could see were those who were putting men down simply for being men, and as a result I associated anyone who identified as a feminist to be just as close-minded as they believed all men were. As I went through my college years, I began to see how feminism was so much more than what I had thought – true feminism was supporting EVERYONE, no matter their gender, race, sexuality, religion, or anything else that may have set them apart. Although I still refused to consider myself a feminist, I found that I began to associate myself more and more with their ideals.

Even leading up to the march, I was rethinking going; since it was the first weekend back to school, all I wanted to do was hang out with my friends, go on late night Cook-Out runs, and generally have fun. As I thought about it, though, I knew that I would regret it. I would hear how there was going to be an estimated 200,000 people, I would remember my best friend who was encouraging me to go, but most of all I would think back to the women’s suffrage movement, the Civil Right’s movement, and all those other successful stories that began with marches such as this one. I knew that it was going to be something extraordinary, and it was necessary in order for me to try and make sure my rights would be kept intact.

The minute I arrived, I knew I had made an amazing decision. The amount of people who had shown up was overwhelming; there were moments where we could barely move through the crowds, and we ended up standing in a bush at the rally preceding the march just so we could hear what was being said. It was in this bush that I almost began to cry as I listened to the words that Ashley Judd was saying in her spoken word program. It was in this bush that I realized that I was part of something amazing, and reminded myself to treasure every moment of this day.

After the protest, however, I began to meet some true challenges. It’s difficult to go onto social media and find so many people that are against such a peaceful protest – and it was peaceful, by the way. Despite the violence that occurred in the District the day before, the Women’s March was peaceful, loving, and calm. Despite all the backlash that has come with the march, I have to remind myself that I stood up for what I believed was right, I did it respecting the first amendment of the Constitution, and that this is only the beginning. I look forward to the day where I won’t have to worry about the things I worry about today.