The note meant to break me. It taught me resilience instead.

"You don't belong here."

That was the note I found on my desk one morning in 2019.

I don't know who wrote it, and I probably never will. But I know how it made me feel: Devastated. Humiliated. Fearful. Ashamed.

At that time, I had spent more than fifteen years working in engineering within the Defense Industrial Base. I had pledged my career in service to the global Public Sector. I had followed that mission to a new state; uprooting my family, moving away from what was known and comfortable, diving headlong into the unknown (with great enthusiasm, I might add). I was in it because I believed in the mission, and this was how I was going to make a difference in the world. I was all in.

And then, that note. Hurtful words reflecting an opinion I didn't ask for, from someone who didn't even have the courage to sign their name to it.

I should've taken that note and tossed it in the trash. But instead, I took that note to heart, and it broke me.

For the next two years, I was lost. I questioned my worth. I lost faith in my abilities. I stopped trusting my knowledge; my experience; my ability to lead; to speak in public; to make a difference. I began suffering panic attacks at work, and the mission I had given my career to suddenly felt too big for me. I felt unwanted. I dreaded getting up in the morning, and the drive into the office became excruciating. I hated myself, and I believed what that note had told me. I didn't belong.

Until, one day, I remembered who I was. I got up, I stopped listening to the noise, and I fought back.

I recognized that I needed help. I asked for help. I got help. I began to trust myself again. I learned to stop associating my value with the opinions of others. I re-learned my worth. I practiced self-care and prioritized my mental health. I learned resilience. I found my voice again.

Now I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt: I belong. AND SO DO YOU.

Change is hard, and there will always be those who try to halt progress and drag us back to "what was." Many of these tactics will seek to divide us, and some will show up as personal attacks. They attempt to humiliate, erase, alienate, drive out. But those approaches are tired, and we know better.

We know our own worth, and we don't hinge our value on the opinion of those we wouldn't turn to for advice.

You belong, folks. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The world needs you, and you are making a difference. You belong here.

#WomensHistoryMonth #TheWomanInTheArena

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