After the show yesterday in Thunder Bay when Masia One and Eternia were signing autographs, I sat down in a chair and exhaled.  A student walked up to me and said “Woah, you totally had a sad look on your face right then.”

I didn’t want to admit it to her, but I was.  For a moment I was overwhelmed by what we heard today.

When Eternia asked the students to share any stories with us, they really shared.  We heard about a stepfather abusing his daughter and another student feeling alienated because she’s Native.  Eternia responded honestly with her experience with abuse and congratulated the first student for being courageous enough to speak out about her situation.  Masia told the second student that she understands how she feels.

Another student said she was really inspired by the show.  She didn’t know how bad things were in other countries, and other facts like how over half of the women in world don’t go to school.

We’re on the tour to talk about girls around the world who are fighting to gain back their rights to education, self-esteem and self-sufficiency.  I didn’t realize how much girls here in Canada would truly be able to relate to girls in places like Sudan, Haiti and Colombia.

They may not be dealing with extreme poverty like the girls in those countries, but they got it.

This song is for the strong girls and women taking back control in their lives.  Jennifer Hudson’s Invisible.