Travel memories restore my faith

Here at The WTAF Show, we aim to inspire with our stories, even when we’re working behind the scenes and in-between seasons.

But sometimes the inspiration refuses to surface, and we have to dig down deep and pull it up for oxygen. That’s been the mood around here this week, even as we finish editing our London episode and plan our itinerary for next month’s trip.

I’ve frankly been a bit melancholic.

Whether or not you agree that two producers and the director of the most critically acclaimed film of 2023 were snubbed by the Oscars, or if you’ve seen the bombshell report just out from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), it’s been tough this week to stay optimistic. It’s not just that women can’t get to parity - it literally feels more dangerous than ever to be a woman in America. (See the JAMA report.)

And then, thankfully, I remembered a trip - and the real power and inspiration we carry from our travels.

Six years ago, several girlfriends and I spent a few days in New York City. For a few in the group, it was their first time in the Big Apple. One of us was celebrating a birthday; another, remission of her cancer. We did the sights across Manhattan, from Battery Park’s view of the Statue of Liberty to Times Square at 1 a.m. (when it’s empty and magical). We also joined a momentous movement: The Women’s March, January 20. It was an empowering weekend, a reminder to be proud of who we are, to support other women, and to fight for our freedoms and liberties.

I looked back at the photos and posts: meeting designer Norma Kamali after the march at a corner on West 57th. The boozy night singing cabaret in Hell’s Kitchen at Don’t Tell Mama. The deep conversations - some tough, some hilarious. The speakeasy hidden in the second level of our airbnb walkup. It was a trip that has been perfectly preserved in my memory, and it offered immense clarity this week on the state of things today.

In the six years since, we’ve had losses, personal and cultural. Our friend’s cancer returned, and we said goodbye to Monica in 2023. Federal protections for our privacy and human rights were overturned in June 2022. And whether in VC funding or pandemic impacts or healthcare rights, women have been losing ground.

But we’ve also had incredible gains. More FORTUNE women executives than ever. A woman vice president. The triple threat of Beyonce, Barbie and Taylor Swift contributing a combined ~$5 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023. And a generational wealth shift coming that puts women, for the first time ever, in the financial majority.

Who needs an Oscar, a little gold man, anyway? We don’t, really. We just need to keep showing up for each other and influencing systems for the better.

The memory of that Women’s March and long weekend in NYC returned right when I needed it. Coincidentally, one of the girlfriends on that trip called me soon after my trip down memory lane: “I’m in my car, about to go in for my mammogram, and thought I’d give you a quick call and see how you’re doing.” I’m so glad that getting squeezed made her think of me, ha.

So now I turn to the excitement of what’s next: the next season of this show. The next episode. The next trip. The oxygen is back. And it’s going to be a fantastic journey.

Kelly

Co-Producer | The WTAF Show