I woke up at 7:15 on Jan. 21, 2017 to attend the historic Women’s March in Washington, D.C. May I just say, it was well worth it. I bundled up in sweats and a sweatshirt, ready to stand and walk outside for hours. My mom and I met up with some of our church friends and we tried our best to stay together in the chaos we were about to meet.

When we got to the Metro station, I could not believe the amount of people that were there to get to the march. So many people were on the platform and even more were in the trains. When the first filled train came, we decided to wait for the next one in hopes of it being less full, although the second was just as jam packed. We squeezed our way in anyway, and got separated for a little as we sat anywhere we could.

When my mom, two friends and I got in one car, I thought it was as full as could be, but as the train stopped at more stops with loaded platforms, somehow more people managed to shove into the car. Eventually it was so crowded that no one had to hold onto any rails because people had nowhere to fall. Apparently, the women’s march was the second biggest Metro event, the first being Obama’s first inauguration.

On the train I saw a sign that read, “Straight out of vagina.” Many people found it funny and took pictures of it, including me. Other signs had funny and inspirational quotes on them and people gladly held them up and showed them off.

As my group got off the train, we met up with the rest of our friends from church. From there, we entered the streets of D.C. and met up at Starbucks. Everyone smiled, talked and supported each other’s signs– someone even went around asking people to sign their sign.

Posters ranged from funny sayings like “This pussy grabs back” to inspirational sayings such as, “My faith votes for compassion.” Everything was so incredible– the signs, the chants, and watching so many people in one place getting along and enjoying themselves.

In the middle of the street, several guys with tall, noticeable signs walked down with a huge megaphone. They were delivering their message that everybody has sinned and will go to Hell if they aren’t saved and don’t become Christian. Most people did not agree with their message, but they let them have their opinions. No fights broke out and to my surprise, everything remained peaceful.

From about 10:00am to 3:15pm, various people including Ashley Judd, Michael Moore, Alicia Keys, and even Madonna, spoke and performed in support of women’s rights. They were all very inspiring and beautiful, but after a while the people just wanted to start marching and started chanting, “Let us march! Let us march!”

After five hours of standing around and listening to over twenty influential speeches, we finally began to march. I was surprised to find no form of checking security, especially since the website said to expect a checking point and gave all the restrictions.

I got separated from my mom and the other half of my group a while back, but I was still with three other people. During the march, everybody flooded out into the streets, on the sidewalks, and onto parallel streets. Chants broke out such as, “The people united cannot be divided” and “My body, my choice.”

Everything was successful with absolutely no arrests and no violence. The entire day was about expressing our opinions with peace and not letting our voices be silenced and we did just that.

I am so proud to have participated in such a huge, successful, history changing event. This was a beautiful and peaceful act of justice where over 500,000 people of all different races, genders, classes, and religions came together to support each other. I can’t believe we still have to march for basic women’s rights and human rights, but I’m very satisfied with the results. No arrests or violence, just love, compassion, and hope.