It was a Friday night when I found myself excitedly chatting with a few close friends about the posters I had made in preparation for the Women’s March. As my best friend, Bailey, and I’s excitement escalated throughout our conversation, my guy friend suddenly butted in, “Why do you march? I don’t get the purpose." I was dumbfounded. Not only by the fact that he had to ask that question, but also because I did not have an answer.

Yes, I preach about women’s rights issues daily, but what would this march do to change anything? I struggled to bring my thoughts together and let Bailey take the lead on this one.

My friend’s question was not meant to be an ignorant one; it was one of genuine curiosity. There are many women’s rights issues that we address on a daily basis in America. You hear about them in the news, magazines, and primarily from social media posts. So I pondered how this march differs from other platforms in bringing attention to the issue.

I rewound my thoughts back to a century earlier, thinking of 1913 when Alice Paul and others picketed outside the White House for women’s suffrage. She fought for the end of sex discrimination in the right to vote. Paul’s ambition enabled her to achieve her goal by gaining the collective support of Americans through speeches, conferences, women's suffrage parades, rallies, and marches. She was one of the bravest women leaders in America who paved the way for women today.

Although women’s rights have progressed greatly in the 21st century, I know that if Alice Paul saw the number of social media posts by women saying “#metoo”, she would say that we still have ways to go.

The social media platform was how I discovered the parade was occurring in the first place. It’s what sparked my interest in Planned Parenthood, which inspired one of my posters that said: “Protect planned parenthood, protect our rights." Social media was where I posted links to fundraisers going towards women's rights, it’s what links the world on women’s rights issues. What connects us, even more, is putting down our tablets, getting off the couch, and physically uniting, like they did in 1913.

By uniting and going to the march, we are bringing awareness to the issue. Women are saying, “We are not done yet." We’re telling the country that as long as women are sexually harassed, as long as unequal pay remains, as long as we lack control over our own bodies, hell as long as we have taxes on tampons, we will still be here.

So on January 20th, 2018, I made my way down to the sea of people who gathered around the frozen solid reflecting pool. Surrounded by posters with bold letters that waved in the air as their owner’s triumphantly elevated them despite their arm’s fatigue, I felt liberated. I could see deep into the crowd near the speaker’s stage, a poster that read, “This is what democracy looks like." Other posts read, “Girls just wanna have Fun-damental rights”, “VOTE for women”, and "#metoo".

I glanced at my best friends by my side, then at the thousands of people around me. In that moment a strong sense of motivation and belonging flowed through my body. I imagine that this was how Alice Paul felt when she marched in 1913. With thousands of people huddled between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, we were a relentless, empowered unit. The type of purpose we all felt is what fuels a movement, it's what creates change.

So, to answer my friend and all others who asked that same question, "Why do you march?" That feeling of purpose is the exact reason why.