Over the past few days, I had the opportunity to attend two separate marches in DTLA. One on Inauguration Day and the other I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about. The one I’m mostly going to be talking about is the Women’s March, but I wanted to first mention the Anti-Hate/Inauguration March on Friday.

The skies were crying that day as Obama officially stepped down from the role of President of the United States. It was pouring rain in Los Angeles, an oddity that rarely occurs. When I first moved here, I hadn’t thought that I’d need an umbrella so I left it back in the Bay Area. I wish that I had made a different decision. So without an umbrella, rain jacket or any sort of waterproof clothing, I went outside and joined in the march. I believe there were about 2,000 people or so. It was a sea of umbrellas with empowered people holding onto the end of each one. We may have looked like we had all just jumped into a lake, but we were standing up for our rights. 

The next day, the sun was shining on Los Angeles as the Women’s March took place. It was such an incredible feeling to participate. While many marches and protests have the ability to become violent, this one didn’t. I felt more safe in that crowd of 750,000 people than I sometimes do walking in broad daylight. Women, men and children filled the streets and our voices rang loud and clear. Everyone was friendly and an advocate of love, peace and equality. My favorite chant is the one where the women yell, "My body, my choice!" and the men echo with, "Her body, her choice!" It gives me the chills.

This march was such a beautiful movement that took place in over 600 cities worldwide across all seven continents. I am proud to say that I was a participant in this historic event. This Thursday, I'm going to be posting a video on YouTube about the marches. For now, enjoy some of my favorite pictures that I took.