Generation Z, n.
A generation filled with change
that our past fulfills.
The ones that we get,
baggage we take on
To meet the expectations
of the generations before us.
The ones
our mothers,
grandmothers,
and great grandmothers
couldn’t fulfill.
We focus on changes
Without realizing
We’re enduring more than we can.
The legacy
Of our ancestors.
Breaking the cycle
And battling the stereotypes
The ones that were left for us.
The ones we take on with no questions asked.
The fear of us
Failing to fulfill.
The legacy these women left behind,
Even with their lack of resources and support.
They built a foundation for the floor we stand on.
As women,
We often fight harder
As we get overlooked
For our “uncontrollable emotions”
And “lack of sophistication” to society.
Yet when we look behind us,
We see the women who came before us,
the risks they took on
to inspire us-
For the next generations after Gen Z.
To continue the legacy
that was inherited.
With all of it,
The ebbs and the flows.
We dream big,
And we panic, fearing what we can’t control.
Yet freeing the dreams of our foremothers,
The ones they weren’t able to accomplish,
gives comfort.
Waeza Jagirdar is an alum of Girls Write Now and is majoring in Media & Communications studies with a minor in Political Science at Lehman College. She plans to go to nursing school afterward. She worked as a certified nurse assistant and medical assistant as well as interning for a Gen Z corporation called 902youth. During her spare time, she volunteers for Asiyah Women's Shelter and she advocates for human rights in the Middle East.