Sophie
“To be a woman is to be strong and resilient. To wake up every day and face a world that has been designed for men, yet remaining determined to thrive in it.”
Sophie is passionate about empowering others and protecting the planet. She’s is a feminist, a climate activist and a strong advocate for mental health and women’s health. She has recently faced adversities with her own health, and after enduring immense amounts of pain and receiving little help from her doctors, she decided to take matters into her own hands. This led to her researching her symptoms, and coming across the chronic pain condition vulvodynia. She presented this information to her doctors and vulvodynia became her diagnosis. Now she is determined to raise awareness on vulvodynia - a condition that many women may not realise they have. Sophie radiates positive energy, confidence and a hunger for change. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
S: Hi! My name is Sophie Price and I’m 19 years old. I am a third-year journalism student at Carleton University with a minor in environmental and Indigenous studies. I am a climate activist, and a mental health and women’s health advocate.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
S: I would describe myself as outgoing, bubbly, and confident. I enjoy working with other people and generally prefer to be in some sort of social setting. I am eager to learn and experience everything which means I often dive headfirst into new projects and experiences. Sometimes this works out for me and sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming!
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
S: I like to think I am pretty self-confident, so there are many things I love about myself!
Physically - I love my freckles and the way my cheeks glow in the summer.
Personality - I love how happy the little things can make me.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
S: I think all of my life experiences together have built me into the person I am today. However, there are a few experiences that stand out to me. The most obvious and the one I talk about the most was, and is, my experience with the chronic pain condition Vulvodynia. I first started experiencing pain during the summer of 2020. I was treated by several doctors for a UTI, I was on antibiotics for over a month. I was then tested for a yeast infection and several other infections. I can’t even count how many times I peed in a cup. By this point, I had started to do my own research into my symptoms and had stumbled upon the condition vulvodynia. I brought this up to my family doctor and was then sent to a gynecologist for a diagnosis, more than 5 months after the pain began. Of course, the diagnosis was a relief as I could finally put a name to my pain but in reality, it explained very little. I was put on a waitlist to see a specialist and began to research what had caused my vulvodynia. At this point, I suspected it was my birth control messing with my hormones and sending me into early menopause. I asked my doctor for blood work to check my hormone levels, they were low. I then began my journey to a kind of recovery.
This experience opened my eyes to many things, #1 how often women’s pain goes misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. #2 the insane amount of time it takes to see medical professionals (I’m still on that waitlist to see a specialist). #3 How I treat my body and pain. I have learned to listen to my body when it tells me it needs something. Whether that be rest, medication, or nourishment. I have become more grateful for days with little to no pain and have developed ways to cope with the bad days the best I can. I am grateful to have had access to medical care and to be able to afford the ongoing treatment that improves my symptoms, not everyone is so lucky.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?
S: One thing I would tell my younger self is, “keep your head up, confidence is everything”. I was a shy kid always with my nose in a book. I never had many friends and had some bad years. I would want young Sophie to know that the small town she’s stuck in is not the whole world. Good friends are more important than many friends and it’s okay to be alone. Growing up as someone who now identifies as LGBTQ+ in a small town wasn’t always easy, but I am incredibly grateful for my supportive friends and family who made it as easy for me as they could.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
S: This is a hard question! And one I’m not entirely sure how to answer. To be a woman is to be strong and resilient. To wake up every day and face a world that has been designed for men, yet remaining determined to thrive in it.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
S: One woman! There are so many to choose from! I know many people would choose someone famous or well known but I feel like the women directly in my life inspire me the most. I’m going to be cheesy here and say, my mom. I aspire to be as adventurous, caring, and unique as my mom.
She is currently here so I suppose I could say anything to her! However, I would just want her to know how much I appreciate all she has done for me. I would thank her for being supportive of my sexuality from the beginning - even if it was something entirely new for her. I would want her to know that the way she dealt with my anxiety and panic attacks through high school has helped me to deal with my mental health for years to come. Of course, there are many other women in my life that have also shaped me into the woman I am today *cough* my best friends, but we’ll save that for another time.
