I miss the outdoors. It feels like I've been here for weeks, but it has been only days. There’s little to do, but to pass the time in jail. Most days, a correctional officer will come get me to spend my allotted time in the “yard.” The word sounds more promising than it is. The “yard” is like another cell. It's small, with four  solid red brick walls, a concrete floor, no ceiling. Aside from the chill and sliver of sky, it's not much different than being inside. As long as they allow me to keep my medical devices, they're keeping me in solitary confinement, which means I spend my 45 minutes in the “yard” alone.

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There's nothing to do but pace. I walk in circles, along the edges. As I do, I think about a scene from my favorite movie, Suffragette. The main character, Maud Watts, has been arrested for the first time after attending a women's suffrage rally. In jail, all the women are let out into a similar yard, though much nicer and bigger than the one here. They walk in circles for exercise. The women introduce Maud to Emily Davison, explaining that she’s done more time than any of them. The woman playing Davison says, “Welcome, Maud.”

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In the early 1900s, hundreds of women in Britain were arrested and jailed as they fought for the right to vote. Women would stage protests, some involving civil disobedience. They’d disrupt politicians’ speeches, for example, to force them to hear their voices. Some women would smash windows and engage in other forms of property destruction.

While incarcerated, many women staged hunger strikes to disrupt the ability of the jail to safely house large numbers of suffrage activists. This did lead to many suffragettes being released from jail early. The British government feared the public outrage that would come if a suffragette died in custody.

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Emily Davison did ultimately lose her life for the cause after being kicked in the head by a horse while disrupting a race in front of the king. While a tragedy, her death made headlines and is widely considered a turning point for the suffrage cause. Women endured great pain in their efforts to gain the vote. Yet, just over 100 years later, many of us already take our right to vote for granted. Change is often born out of struggle. It is born from those who dare to challenge corruption and power and face the consequences that come.

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Since my early days of activism and rescue work, I've found strength in the stories of those who've come before me. These stories tell of how activists face more repression when their resistance becomes more impactful. It is a reminder that we must persist through hardships, like what I'm living through now. 

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To some, my being here may look like losing. I don’t see it that way. I see it as a sign that we have come to be a real threat to companies like Perdue that make billions of dollars off the mistreatment of animals. If we weren't making a difference, they wouldn't bother with the hassle it took to put me here. We must not let these moments go to waste. My incarceration is, in fact, a sign that we have the upper hand, but please don't back down. Speak up loudly and boldly for our animal friends.