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It’s Sunday, after the US Presidential election, and Kamala Harris is the Vice President elect of the United States. A South Asian, Black woman is set to become the Vice President of the United States of America.
In this week’s episode, I reflect on everything that is in my heart when it comes to the change that’s happened. What the last 4 years have been like in my life, and why it’s important that we make meaning of what’s just happened and to take a second to hold this moment for ourselves.
I'm sharing the different pieces of this of the election that mean something to me and at the end of the show, I'm going to give you a list of questions for you to also take a second to reflect on why this means something to you, whether good or bad and what it calls you towards.
Biden is representative of the return of empathy and vulnerability
Seeing “Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay play after Biden’s victory speech, and reflecting on Biden’s relationship with the late Beau Biden meant so much to me. The fact that Joe Biden wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and is now carrying on his legacy, and the strength that he Joe Biden found after his son passed away is an example of resilience to me.
There is also so much to say about the fact that Biden speaks the language of grief and he speaks the language of loss, empathy and vulnerability, which is something we need so much of right now as we face a global pandemic.
Why the interracial aspect of Kamala and Douglass's relationship means so much to me
I reflect on my partnership with Mitch, how genuinely loving, caring and supportive it is, and what it meant to see Kamana Harris and her husband together, this biracial couple, a woman who is half Jamaican and half Indian, and Douglas Imhoff who is a Jewish man, and their love for each other.
There's just so much joy and genuine care and love from Douglass love for his partner, for her ambition, for everything she wants to be in the world, is in the world, has done in the world. And you there's such a sense of Independence between them and therefore true care, love and belonging with one another, and the reason I can see it, I think, is because that is exactly what Mitch and I have. And there's still a stigma around these interracial relationships in our in the South Asian community and to see that relationship represented by the Vice President Elect of the United States and her partner. It's incredible. It's also a form of acceptance. I didn't know I needed to see it at that level. It makes me realize how OK our love is, because I know our love is pure and incredible and beautiful.
What it means to me to see a family like Kamala Hariss’ in the White House
Kamala Harris, her parents came to the U.S. as immigrants who were continuing their education, they were highly educated, which was the priority of the U.S. government at the time, and this led to Kamala’s own Ivy League education. And then also Maya, her sisters and Meena’s Ivy League education. Seeing their blended family, how they focused on education and excellence in that way, inspires me to think about my kids' future and what that can look like.
It’s important, making meaning of seeing all of these different aspects and the value of education and what the next generation is capable of when you have a determined, strong mother or parents or support system and love as a priority in your life and your family. That is incredibly motivating for me, to create that container as a family, as, you know, a pillar of my community in my life, and to keep that as a fundamental value. It's so inspirational.
Kamala Harris is a strong woman who is unabashedly herself
There's a half Indian, half Jamaican woman as the Vice President elect of the U.S. and she is unabashedly herself. Like she says she eats “no” for breakfast, like there's just this power to her. And I'm here for it because it reminds me of my mom and so many South Asian women that I know. And it's just this: “I know who the fuck I am and don't try to tell me otherwise, and I'm here to do the job and I'm going to do it better than you ever could” energy. Yeah, that's my mom. That's what I want to embody. That's what I see Kamala Harris embodying. - [20:25]
And that's what I want to make meaning out of in terms of that piece is just remembering who I am and where I come from and what I'm here to do.
Download our curated journal prompts to journal about what this moment means to you...
- To make meaning of it, look at the last four years of your life, write out what changes have happened for you, what you learned from Trump's presidency, what it made you think about yourself and your existence in your body, how it may be ignited activism for you.
- Write down the things that matter most to you about this change. What is it calling you forward to do? Ask yourself: Who am I? What am I here to do?
For me, this win reminds me not to diminish myself. It reminds me that we are this current generation of leaders who are going to inspire Gen Z and beyond and help bring them up so that, as Kamala Harris says, she's the first, she's not the last. And we need to do this across industry. And so this ability for us to better understand who we are, how we operate, how our minds work, this is the training. I am here to provide a generation of BIPOC leaders so that we can go across industry bewell in our bodies, be connected to one another in community, and so that we can be resilient as we dismantle systems of oppression and take up the space we fucking deserve. That is my calling forward. And so if I'm diminishing myself, I'm not serving anybody. I'm not serving us bigger work I'm here to do.And so if I'm diminishing myself, I'm not serving anybody. I'm not serving us bigger work I'm here to do.
Thank you for tuning in this week, I hope that you enjoyed soaking in this incredible moment with me, and that you take a second to fully appreciate this moment before continuing on.
Until next time!
Love, Komal