Annika
“I think there are so many women who have never and will never be publicly recognised, but should be proud of themselves. ”
She is passionate when it comes to learning, encouraging when it comes to teaching and patient when it comes to listening. Always calm in the face of a storm, she redefines what it means to “soldier on” through her remarkable strength, toughness and limitless empathy.
Meet Annika, this is her story.
Annika, in Japan (her happy place)
P: Please introduce yourself!
A: My name is Annika Marie Bess. I am a 24-year-old female who lives and works in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
A: I would say I am someone who likes to learn, see my friends and family happy and finds happiness in the small things; having a cup of tea, doubling over with laughter, and seeing any type of greenery.
I think defining myself is a hard thing because something I believe is important is to follow the path of 1. Asking questions 2. Considering how new information can change me for the better 3. And then adapting to this new change.
I feel like I want to always want to be learning and changing, so the first half of this answer will change and I hope this second part never does.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
A: I think it is my endurance. I feel that regardless of what I experience in life or how bad my life would get I will get up the next morning and just keep fucking going. I feel that sometimes this is not the best attitude but I think it is a very primal way of viewing life, there will always be someone around, if not there is someone to meet, there will always be food, if not there will be a way to get it, I will always be okay, if not I will have to find a way to change.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
A: Firstly, I am indecisive so it’s hard to pick, but secondly, I think this speaks to my idea of continuing on. I don’t see one moment as the one that defined me. I have succeeded and failed, I have been alone and been with a partner, I have seen my family happy and I have seen them devastated, I have travelled and come home, and I have moments where society seems doomed, and moments that are so great that I hadn’t had to consider hardship. All these moments are important to me.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
A: There is no magic piece of advice that is going to help you. Things will be hard, you will always think you can do/be better, that will never go away, and you just can’t and won’t let it get on top of you.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
A: I feel very fortunate to be a woman in this day and age. We have the freedom that the patriarchy has provided a space in which we can be emotional, and care for others without fear of being deemed weak like other genders experience. We have the strength behind us of the women who fought for our right to vote, right to work or own property and many other opportunities.
As a white middle-class straight woman, I believe that my role in being a woman is to listen. I need to listen to men who feel scared to share their emotions, I need to listen to women of colour who are still being unjustly harmed by society, I need to listen to those anywhere on the gender or sexuality spectrum who don’t feel heard or validated in themselves. I need to listen and need to support people who are not treated fairly.
I think it is also important to continue to check for shame. I believe that within society there is still so much shame on women. We will be shamed for being a mum or not being one or being a single mum with not enough money for her kids, or a working mum who doesn’t spend enough time with her kids. There is shame around women who own their bodies and are proud to show them, and shame for those who cover up too much. There is a shame for women who announce they enjoy sex and shame for those who want to wait. I think it is important to recognise how often we see and experience shame as a woman, and most importantly to call it out. This shame doesn’t always come from men or wider society, it can easily come from women, so it is important to recognise it, call it out and check ourselves for how we speak to and about other women.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here right now?
A: I don’t think I have one woman who inspires me alone, I am inspired by every woman who tries her best with the situation that they have. I think there are so many women who have never and will never be publicly recognised, but should be proud of themselves.