Em-URGE-ing Voices

Deana

Major: Social Work with a Political Science minor
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
Favorite writer: I don't have a specific one, but I LOVE reading Black Feminist authors
Favorite sex scene from a movie/TV/book: The sex scene in Ransom My Heart by Mia Thermopolis (aka Meg Cabot)
Hidden Talent: I'm pretty decent at doing voices and impressions

Posts By: Deana Ayers

Reproductive Justice, Social Work, and Me

I struggled to write my first article for this blog, and I think it was because I didn’t take the time to introduce myself and what I want to accomplish before I dived into politics and RJ. While the personal is political, I thought it was important to flesh out who I am and provide context for what I’ll be writing for the ChoiceWords Blog. I’m currently in my second year of studying social work at the University of North Texas. I chose social work because I like to consider myself a big picture thinker. I have empathy and compassion for individual situations, but I’m also naturally drawn to looking at the systems that are causing the problem. In theory, this is exactly what social workers are supposed to do,… Read more »

Pay Your Organizers Please

For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been seeing an advertisement on Twitter for the same organizing fellowship. The organization promises to “empower young leaders” by teaching various skills, like planning events, building coalitions, and utilizing social media. By the time I got to the bottom of the page the first time, I was excited. The opportunity to make a difference in my community and learn how to be a better organizer is always exciting. The disappointment came, as it always seems to, when I came to the bottom of the page and I realized that, of course, this is unpaid. The initial excitement about learning more, creating a change in my community, and becoming a better organizer was tamped out by the inability to sustain myself while doing that work…. Read more »