Day 1: I'm Back

I don’t know where to start.  There are so many things I could write about, there’s just so much to say. 

The Project

            One Dress One Month has officially restarted as of yesterday.  This time, I have a few more people participating.  Unfortunately, the group is not as big as originally thought.  However, that is entirely my fault.  A couple of months ago, when I started planning this month, there were TONS of people interested in participating in the project.  But I, in my infinite selfishness, didn’t keep people informed and accountable.  So while I feel simply AWFUL that there aren’t more people involved, I have only myself to blame.

            Good news, I look fantastic in my new dress, and the girls I’m participating with look marvelous as well.  Not only that, but this group is well on its way to becoming an official student organization.  Once we’re an organization, we can really urge people to get involved, and in turn, shed light on human slavery.

Changes

           

            There have been huge changes in my life since participating in ODOM in the fall.  I now have a good idea of what God has in store for me.  I know that He has given me a heart for the issue of human slavery for a reason, and I know that I’m in a good position to advocate for change. 

            So many opportunities have popped up in the last few months, it’s a HUGE indicator that this is the type of stuff I’m supposed to be doing with the rest of my life.  I’m just trusting that God will show me what He wants and that I won’t be fumbling around making a fool of myself (like I normally do). 

           

            There has been a great deal of media coverage about this project and the word is really getting out.  There are wonderful women participating alongside me who truly have a passion for speaking out against the injustices in this world. 

           

            To see this level of change, just 6 months after the original project, is phenomenal.  I’m shocked, and nervous, but SO excited to see what happens next.

The Issue

         

Shockingly enough, slavery hasn’t ended since the last time that I wore a dress for a month (*sarcasm hand*).  In fact, slavery is as big as it’s ever been. 

Did you know that as a resident of Ohio you will probably see between 12 and 20 victims of slavery every year?  That means that at least one person is spotted every month, and then ignored. 

            I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel rather terrible.  How is it that I, who care so much about seeing an end to the enslavement of others, can’t recognize a victim when I see one?

Proverbs 31: 8

           

            Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.

           

            As a Christian, I find that this verse carries a great deal of meaning.  Christians are called to action.  We are not to be passive.  Instead, we are meant to defend the rights of the poor and the needy (Proverbs 31: 9). 

            I just hope that God reminds me of this in the coming month.  Because if how I feel right now is any indication of how I’m going to feel later, this project isn’t going to go great.  I’m disappointed that there aren’t more people doing this with me, and I’m afraid that the few of us participating will go unnoticed.

            I am not in the mood to talk to people about the issue, nor am I particularly excited about wearing this dress every day.  But unlike a lot of people, I KNOW that I can trust in God, that I have hope.  God will turn this project into something that even my crazy imagination couldn’t cook up.

Pictures

My dress… forgive the gross-ness of this picture... it was late.

 That's the only excuse I have.

The ladies in our dresses 

(From left to right: Margo, Carrie, Kira, Hannah, Elizabeth, Sarah, Me, Sarah)

I'm not finished.

                Technically, it’s the end of the month.  Therefore, my October project has officially come to an end.  But I’m not ready to stop.  I thought that after 31 days I would be sick of this dress.  I thought I would be disgusted to have to put it on every day.  Honestly, I didn’t even believe that many people would pay attention to the issue I was subtly drawing attention to.  Sadly, I’m not sure if I doubted myself or if I doubted God’s ability to act within it, more.  Either way, it brings me great pleasure to admit that I was horribly wrong.  God has blessed this project in so many ways, and brought awareness of human trafficking to many people.   I am so excited that this went much better than I ever anticipated. 

I am blessed with an amazing group of friends who went through this month long project with me.  Some wore the dress (you know who you are) and others put up with my frequent rants and even a three-day-long bout of hysterical crying.  God has been ever-present during this project, and I know He’ll continue to use me ,and the wonderful people around me, to bring heart-wrenching issues like human trafficking to the forefronts of everyone’s minds.  I pray that the passion I have for this issue will continue to manifest itself in a way that is pleasing to God and shows His great love for ALL of His children.

                Galatians 6:9-Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

                Ending the project now is in no way “giving up;” after all, this is the end of the month.  However, I cannot stand the thought of ending the project when so many good things are happening because of it (I'm not saying that to be rude to the girls who are ending the project today, it's my personal conviction to continue).  Awareness is there, in the minds of the student body here at OU, but I don’t think the passion for issues like these is present.    For that reason, Danielle (my best friend from Toledo) and I are continuing the project.  We want people to not only know about human trafficking in Toledo, in Ohio, in the United States, and in the world, but most importantly, we want them to feel passionate about an issue, any issue. This time, I do not have a time restriction.  I will continue wearing the dress, and everything it represents, until I feel God calling me elsewhere.

                Again, thank you all for your love, your prayers, and your unfailing support, but don’t think your job is over.  I’m a long way from finished.

 PICTURES!!!!

Day 27: Kira's sweater

Day 28: Danielle's (from down the hall) sweater

Day 29:  Danielle's sweater

Day 30:  It's Sunday, I was feeling sweatpants.  The sweater is Danielle's.  I spent this day cleaning up Court Street after the crazy Halloween shenanigans.

Day 31: Halloween, the "last day." The scarf belongs to my baby sister.

The four girls who having been participating down here in Athens.  (Left to right:  Emily, Me, Sarah, and Hannah)

Crazy pose!

The whole litter of puppies

The females: one of these babies is coming home with me.

Value... you have it.

                Dressed up, paraded around for your looks and the experience you may or may not have sexually.  Does this kind of life sound promising?  Does it seem like the type of life that would help you to become emotionally and mentally satisfied?  Do you want to be known solely by your outward appearance?  Of course not!  Can you imagine the havoc that that causes to your self-esteem?  To have a healthy self-concept, you must feel fulfilled; you must feel valuable and important.  Trafficked victims have none of this.  Who do they really matter to, their pimps?  No.   To the people that keep them enslaved they are nothing more than merchandise, just as they are to the people that purchase their “services.”

                Ugh.  This is disgusting to think about.  I worry about the thousands of women and children that are exploited every day.  They are purchased based upon their looks.  If they aren’t appealing enough, they can’t make money for their enslavers.   If they can’t make money, they aren’t any good.  I hate to think about what happens to a girl once she is no longer useful, once she no longer has monetary value.  I hate to imagine the kind of pressure that creates. 

Imagine being one of them, feeling so degraded by what you are being forced to do, having your life reduced to nothing more than retail.  Eventually, there probably is not much left of your own self-worth, your dignity is gone.  At this point, how many girls actually feel valuable?

It is here that I start to cry.  Sometimes, I just feel bad about myself.  I feel fat, ugly, unintelligent, and just plain unattractive.  But I’m sure these girls try to feel nothing at all.  And that’s what breaks my heart.  While I may struggle with self-esteem, I still have my dignity.  I value myself, because I know that above all, the Lord values me.  Who is there to tell the girls that they are valued too?

So, to all of you beautiful women (and men) out there that struggle with self-esteem, with feeling worthy, with being enough, “you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20… look it up).  When Jesus was nailed to that cross, he didn’t go because of any wrong doing on his part, but on ours.  He took our shame and nailed it up there with him. 

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we love God, but that he loves us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (John 4: 9-10).

Moral of the Story: God loves and values you. Remember that.

Pictures of the last week and a half

Day 17: I think this is from Day 17.  I'm really not sure, I've gotten so far behind in my picture taking.  I borrowed these tights from beautiful Maggie.  Again.

Day 18: Jacket and leggings courtesy of Maggie.

Day 19: This time, the pants are mine.  Oh yeah. Camo, you know you're jealous.

Day 20: Clothes from Kira! Yay for new clothes! (only the shirt and scarf)  the dress is MINE.

Day 21:  FRIDAY!  That vest-looking thing is actually the same scarf from above.  YAY for creativity!  I also went home this day.  I needed to go home.

Day 22: I sanded kitchen cupboards this day.  I did not wear this outfit though.  For working with messy things I flipped the dress inside out and wore sweatpants.  I miss sweatpants. (P.S. The belt/scarf is from Kira)

Day 23:  Riding back to Athens day.  Boo. I hate this day.  But I love the belt Kira lent me.  It has a flower on it.  I'm seriously running out of interesting things to say about my life.

Day 24:  Wow, its a new look.  I tucked the dress into my pants.  I'm branching out. Scarf is Kira's.

Day 25: Another scarf from Kira.  The last two days I didn't want to be creative.  So different scarves still count as changing up the outfit.

Day 26:  Wednesday.  Another day wearing the dress as a skirt.  Neato.

P.S.  I'm gonna try to post pictures of the puppies soon.  But soon could mean tomorrow, and it could mean a month from now. 

Fighting Back

What can I, as a college student, do to help combat slavery? 

Honestly, I think the best thing to do is stop labeling yourselves and others. I am a poor college student, they are poor slaves.  Instead, ask: What can I, as a human being, do to help stop the enslavement of others?

I'm not asking people to put on boxing gloves and start swinging. I'm not even asking you to go into sketchy neighborhoods and steal skantily clad women and girls off the streets (because that's creepy).  There's no need to turn into some angry Dad (*cough cough* TAKEN) and rush around the world killing people (that's not your job).  I just want people to start THINKING.  And, as the majority of my readers are college students, I don't think that would be terribly challenging.

I'm just tired of everyone's seemingly apathetic attitude. People claim to be "passionate" about certain issues, but they do not actively demonstrate this passion. I don't know about my readers, but I spend an inappropriately large amount of time on the internet.  I hate the strange consuming power that the internet has over me, and I'm desperately trying to cut back.  While wasting time on the internet, like many of my fellow students are prone to do, I have found that a lot of people can complain, but few people do anything about problems in this world that bother them.

For that reason, I continued my internet surfing with a new purpose in mind, to find ways to fight back against sex trafficking.  While searching, I came across this website...

http://www.gracehavenhouse.org/how-to-help/24-fight-human-trafficking/

To briefly sum up this article, you can fight slavery, and demonstrate your passion for an issue by:

1. Educating Yourself
2. Educating Others
3. Volunteering with Organizations
4. Refusing to buy products made by the hands of forced laborers
5. Praying

And here is my weekend in clothes....

Day 14:  Friday night I went to a dance show (hence the pose) and then had a fun night with friends.  Thanks again to Maggie for the tights.

Day 15: Homecoming Game Day!!!  The dress is mostly hidden under the jersey, but you can see it peeking out underneath.  I had oodles of fun and was busy ALL day.  I met up with several friends participating in "One Dress" and got some great pictures (to be posted later).

Day 16: This is how I spent my Sunday.  I am completely ashamed of my lazy attitude.  Absolutely nothing was accomplished. 

The Funk

Sometimes, I just feel discouraged. I get upset and feel like my relationship with God is not growing with the same intensity that it normally does.  I feel moody, depressed, and in general, icky.  This is what I like to call, "the funk."  That inescapable place, that hole in the ground that is starting to cave in around you... it's heavy and incredibly unpleasant. 

I've been having a really difficult time spreading the word about my "project."  I've only had one or two people (other than close friends) ask me why I'm wearing the dress.  And honestly, I've been rather shocked.  Not only have people not noticed as much as I hoped they would, but they seem uninterested when I give them my reasons.  They seem to respond with a Oh, that's interesting or I've heard that before.  But that's it.  No one says, What can I do? And this level of apathy is starting to get to me. 

For these reasons, I have started to blame myself, have begun doubting my convictions, and I've just been in a bad mood.  As a result, I was drowning in these feelings of hopelessness.

Well, as of Tuesday, I had not been successful in escaping "the funk."  However, things started to turn around before Crosswalk last night.  I had a great quiet time, I had a lovely evening of praise, prayer, and fellowship, and I was beginning to emotionally calm down.

I started reading Hebrews 10 last night. Verses 35 and 36 say, So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 

I then said to myself, Self, put on your confidence pants and stop being so pitiful, keep on truckin' and God will help you work everything out.

Soon after, I got on to facebook and saw that my friend Danielle Hale, from here at OU, completed her newspaper article about the project.  I, of course, had to repost it.  Within the hour, my facebook homepage and wall were covered in loving comments and shares with requests to read and repost.  I had never felt so loved and supported.  It really warmed my heart to know that so many people DO care about the terrible-ness that is human trafficking.

And, in even better news, today in my dance class three girls asked me why I've been wearing the same dress everyday.  I almost cried in excitement.

Needless to say, I consider myself successfully out of "the funk."

Here is a link to the newspaper article:

http://speakeasymag.com/campus-buzz/students-participate-in-one-dress-one-month-to-raise-awareness-of-human-sex-trafficking/


Here are those puppy pictures I promised:

The sisters, and our reaction to the news that we are getting a puppy.

Day 13: With Hannah, I am so blessed to have such amazing people working with me to raise awareness for such a good cause.

My bestest friend Danielle Rice.  She goes to the University of Toledo and is the one who introduced me to One Dress.  I owe everything that is happening down here in Athens (the newspaper article [written by a different Danielle], the project, and the awareness being raised) to the efforts and the compassionate heart of this girl.

And here is a picture of her dress.  YAY for the support of friends!

 

II Corinthians 4:7-9

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Born into a family of big. fat. LIARS!

Okay, so I know I said I'd post on Sunday, and it is now Wednesday.  I lied.  My biggest apology is to my darling cousin Megan, who wanted nothing more than to see her picture up on my blog.  I really don't understand this desire because I hardly ever post anything and people rarely read it.  But nevertheless,  here are the pictures from the girls' Saturday night Homecoming adventures.

While the girls were out dancing and having a grand time, I sat at home and typed things.  Wow, sad.

And yes,  I DO come from a family of hotties.

The soccer star, Katie.  It took a lot of convincing to get her into a dress.

Sister #2: Kristi.

Day 8:  Here's the outfit.  I folded a polo in half and belted it in place.  I think it turned out rather nicely.

Darling Megan,  this is her second homecoming dance this fall.

All five girls:  Me, Megan, Kristi, Katie, and other cousin Chelsea (who came up to help with hair, makeup, etc.)

The three dance-goers

That twig is surprisingly heavy.  I'm struggling.

And this picture was just too adorable to not go on here.  It makes me happy just looking at it.

 The day after the dance, Sunday, we woke up SUPER early to head back to Athens.  All six of us (Mom, Dad, Katie, Kristi, Megan, and I)  piled into our tiny CRV and headed to Findlay first to drop off Megan.

I would just like to point out that I should have been suspicious.  My Dad and Uncle Bob had some kind of secret conversation when we dropped off Megan, and I had NO idea why both of my sisters had to travel 8 hours in the car to drop me off at school.

Anyway, the car ride was cramped and boring.  When my Mom pulled off the highway in Zanesville, I was very confused.  She had some absurd desire to tour the countryside to "see the fall leaves."  When Dad started looking for a specific address to stop at, I knew something was going on.

Eventually, we pulled up to a house.  (It was at this moment I realized what was happening).  Dad walked up to the door after telling us to "stay in the car." (creepy, right?)  A woman with a small child answered the door and motioned us inside. 

She then told us we could just go right into the basement.  And I'm thinking, I don't want to go into your basement, I've never seen you in my life.  But we ventured forth, and there in the basement of this stranger's house was a litter of puppies. 

Yes, you read that correctly, puppies.  I AM GETTING A PUPPY!!!!!

They were only a week old, so by the end of the quarter the little addition to our family should be able to come home.  EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so surprised and am still reeling in excitement.  I don't have pictures of the pups yet, but I'll get some and post them soon(ish).  Sorry in advance for being late.

Here is the rest of my week in pictures.

Day 9:  Puppy Day!  I am SOOOOOOO excited!!!!

Day 10: It's a Monday, gimme a break on the bum look.  It's hard to wear sweatpants with a dress.

Day 11:  Walking to Sycamore Place with Maggie to get info about apartments.  We found leaves.  I love leaves.  I actually put a slightly longer black dress over my project black dress... cool, right?

Day 12:  Nothing interesting here,  I added the belt to make myself look less bum-ish for this picture.

There's no place like home

"In the modest, Midwestern city of Toledo, Ohio, cousins and best friends Cara and Stacy went out one May afternoon for a frosty. It began to rain, and a woman driving a white Lincoln Continental pulled alongside the girls. The man in the passenger seat looked familiar; the girls thought he was a friend's father. The girls asked, and the man claimed he was who they thought, and offered them a ride.

Like many trusting teens, the girls had no thoughts that someone would be out do do them harm in their quite suburban neighborhood. Unfortunately, the man was not their friend's father, but a human trafficker named Derick Willoughby.

"Their 10 days in captivity amounted to a crash course in the business of forced sex. They were given clothes and fake identities, and were taken to hotels around Toledo and forced to perform sex acts. An adult always watched and collected payment. Cara and Stacy learned quickly not to cry or speak without permission. When one girl broke a rule, they told authorities, it was her cousin who took the beating."

Traffickers and pimps are master manipulators, and they understand what it takes to keep each girl in line. Sometimes it's promises of love, sometimes it's rape, and sometimes it's beating the girl's friend instead of her. It's the reality of trafficking of children in the U.S."

http://news.change.org/stories/a-crash-course-in-sex-cara-and-staceys-true-story-of-slavery

Reading stories like this I feel like my heart breaks just a little bit more.  Why is a business that deals in the exploitation of children so overlooked?  Why are people who treat children in such a deplorable manner not punished more harshly?  Not only does my inability to answer these questions sadden me, it infuriates me.  

When I first read something like this, I feel useless and sad.  I think, "this is so terrible,  especially because there's not much I can do."  Then I feel angry, "Why does this happen? and, Emily, of course there's something you can do!" 

Looking at stories like this, I find I look more at the "supply" for the "business."  I read the stories, I tear up a little, I put on my dress, and I move on.   I pity the "supply," I pity the girls. 

But my question is: "Why is there a demand?"  How can a person live with themselves knowing that they found pleasure in sexually forcing themselves upon a child? 

Ah the joys of Toledo....

Speaking (or should I say "typing"?) of which... I am home for the weekend.  My sisters are at their homecoming dance tonight.  I, being the wonderful big sister that I am, came up from Athens for the occasion.  Pictures to come tomorrow.

But here is the rest of my week in pictures....

Day 5:  With the "other" Emily.  She too is participating in ONE Dress.  Emily's, unite!

The tights courtesy of my lovable roommate...

Day 6:  Trying to change up "the pose"

Day 7:  Creepin' around with Katie, we're very loving sisters... bwahaha!!  I'm so glad that I'm finally home.

Both Katie and Kristi, and a better view of "the dress"