By SARA MINOGUE
STAFF WRITER
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Many of you might remember hearing this from The Princess Diaries. For those of you who do not remember the movie, Anne Hathaway plays a 15-year-old San Franciscan who discovers that she is the princess of Genovia, a non-existent country in Europe. Her driver, Joe, presents Princess Mia with this quote after her friend Lily makes rude remarks about her new hairstyle and backpack. I am sure we all agree that everyone deserves a Joe in their lives making these inspirational remarks; however, do you all know where Joe discovered this quote?
As a matter of fact, Eleanor Roosevelt once said this exact sentence. An avid women’s and overall human’s rights activist, Eleanor Roosevelt was a lady ahead of her time. In a world where most women realistically did not pursue careers outside of the home, Roosevelt held seemingly unimaginable positions, such as the United States Delegate to the United Nations. Unlike most first ladies, she made an extensive and distinguished name for herself long after her husband was no longer in office. As accomplished as she was, how can her words help students like us? I will answer this using the example of an event that occurred at SLU a few weeks ago.
A few weeks ago, St. Lawrence celebrated Purple Week, a week to recognize sexual harassment and violence and those who have experienced either of the two. Victims of sexual violence, often channel feelings inferiority. Though this is not the case for every victim, this feeling does occur for some. If Eleanor Roosevelt were to speak at purple week using this quote, she would teach us the following.
As humans, we cannot control the lives and actions of the people around us. However, we have the ability to exert some sort of control over ourselves. In other words, if we are faced with situations that allow us to feel inferior, we have the ability to rise against these sentiments. Naturally, for the example of sexual violence, this is easier said than done, although the fact that we have this option is incredible in itself. Roosevelt would explain that we have the courage and goodwill to overcome hardship and the feelings of inferiority, if we choose to use it. She would encourage the students of St. Lawrence to pick up their bootstraps and not let the actions or even words of others affect us. We must stay strong and focus on our own beliefs and accomplishments, and let others worry about their own. We have the ability to change inferiority to superiority: all we have to do is put Roosevelt’s quote to practice.