On Jan. 20, 2018, thousands of men and women took to the nation’s streets for the women’s march. Many came to the march due to concern over a number of issues, including environmental issues, #blacklivesmatter, the #metoo movement, abortion rights, equal pay or simply to empower and support other women.

Marches occurred in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.  Protesters made signs, wore t-shirts with slogans and chanted as they walked through the cities in support of women’s rights everywhere.

My experience occurred at the Women’s March on NJ, held in Morristown. Overall, I can describe it as an atmosphere of love and support. Although many signs were anti-Trump, they reflected the tense political climate in our country today. Many signs stressed the importance of voting, reflecting the theme of the march: “Power to the polls.” Many were filled with empowering slogans such as, “Girls just wanna have fundamental human rights,” “The future is female,” and other slogans that inspired young girls and women to go on to achieve great things.

Personally, I was inspired by the number of young boys and girls that were there. I think it is very important for young girls to feel empowered and I was so excited to see young girls empowering others and themselves. I think it was important for parents to teach their children at a young age about equality and empowerment.

My favorite aspect of the march was how men and women of all ages came together to support women’s rights. Many older women had signs that said “Now you’ve pissed grandma off,” and other signs that stressed the importance of women’s rights through their lifetime. Many young children made their own signs, my favorite being “Girls rule, Trump drools”.

At the Morristown March, speakers included Governor Phil Murphy, Liz Abzug, the daughter of Bella Abzug the founder who helped found the women’s rights movement in 1970, and even included a phone-in speaker: U.S representative of the 12th district, Bonnie Watson Coleman, who could not come to the march due to the government shutdown. One of the most inspiring speakers was Tammy Snyder Murphy, who shared her story of sexual assault in college and her thoughts on the #metoo movement. Seeing a powerful woman who was once sexually assaulted is an inspiration to girls and boys everywhere who are victims of sexual assault and struggling with the aftermath.

Speakers in major locations included powerful women from all fields. In L.A., Viola Davis, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Alicia Garza, co-founder of #blacklivesmatter movement, were high profile speakers.

In New York, singer-songwriter Halsey read a poem and Tarana Burke, founder of the #metoo movement, both spoke at the rally before the march. Among march-goers in N.Y. was Yoko Ono, who also attended the march last year as a protester. In Washington, D.C., the speakers included America Ferrera and Nancy Pelosi.

Overall, the March was full of love and not hate. All speakers ended with a message of hope and the declaration, “we’ll see you next year, but we hope we won’t have to” implying that they hoped the issues being protested would no longer be prevalent and that women would not have to keep marching and protesting just for basic human rights. It was a great march full of empowerment and hope, and I was lucky to be a part of it.