Get Up, Stand Up
and don't give up the fight
Happy Solstice, Friends!
I want to thank everyone for reading, responding to, and reaching out after my last post — extra special thanks to my new and existing paid subscribers. I see you, I appreciate you, and I wouldn’t be doing this without your generous support <3
Things in my life are on a major upswing, and it’s all happening right in time for Cancer ♋️ season (my time to shine, baby).
I feel more peaceful, grateful, and tuned in than I have all year, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all this energy started shifting right after I stood up for myself last month. (If you haven’t read my previous post, here’s the TL;DR: I refused to work until management fixed the $500ish missing from my paycheck, I almost got fired for it, and then the union came to my rescue.)
The resolution to that story is I went back to work on Monday, filed a grievance with the help of my union steward, and was issued a money order by the end of the day. Turns out it was a simple, easy fix, and the final amount after tax deductions was quite special.
Something interesting happened the week I returned to the office. Two other RCAs (the scrubs of the mail carrier world) raised hell about payments they’d been promised and never received. One of them followed my lead and refused to come to work until he was reimbursed for travel expenses. I wondered how long they’d been waiting, silently fuming on the inside while trying to avoid “making a scene,” “causing a fuss,” or whatever kind of fear that stops people from speaking up.
I get it — standing up for yourself is scary. I was scared. I shook and cried after my confrontation with the stand-in asshat of a boss I had to deal with that day. And I also felt so firmly planted in my resolve that no level of fear or doubt or people-pleasing could’ve stopped me. I knew I was doing the right thing and wouldn’t be dissuaded. I stood tall and let the condescending comments bounce right off my bulletproof belief in myself.
I knew I deserved to be treated better. I knew my actions must align with my integrity. No one could convince me otherwise. And yeah, I was fucking intimidated by the whole thing. Not gonna pretend I wasn’t.
When my coworkers followed suit, I couldn’t help but think that maybe my actions inspired them, and that made me proud as fucking punch.
A different coworker and I were discussing what had happened, and he said to me, “Lauren, I think you should encourage your Brothers and Sisters to stand up for themselves.”
I took those instructions to heart. Assuming that observing my actions had inspired others to do the same was not enough. I decided to be more direct than that. Less than an hour after he said that I checked in on a friend at another post office who was owed four-figures-worth of mileage reimbursement.
Here’s the text thread after I told him to stand up for himself:
But I think the moral of this story extends far beyond the dysfunctional walls of the US Postal Service. We’re all Brothers and Sisters (and nonbinary Siblings, too). I hope you know that you don’t need permission from me or anyone else to stand up for yourself!
You deserve to be treated with respect. You are worthy. Your feelings are valid. You matter.
There’s plenty of cake for everyone, you don’t need to give up your slice.
Listen to your gut if you feel you’re being taken advantage of. Don’t let anyone talk you out of taking a stand for yourself or any cause you believe in. There will always be someone trying to squeeze more out of you. More work. More emotional labor. More energy. You can say no. Take care of yourself. You are your own best advocate. Even if you feel like you’re standing alone, you’re not. It only takes one small step before outside help comes swooping in.
Honoring yourself creates ripples of change that extend far beyond what you might currently imagine. Trust me, I know.
If you’re already standing up for yourself, encourage your Brothers and Sisters to do the same. You never know who you might inspire.
And with that, friends, I leave you with this photo of J and I celebrating the summer solstice with one of Maine’s famous “no sunrise” sunrises this morning.
Thanks so much for reading! Sending love and solstice blessings!
XoLauren
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