Why I Stand With Planned Parenthood

I was nineteen when I first went to Planned Parenthood. I hadn’t had a pelvic exam that year, and since I was active with my boyfriend, I wanted to make sure I was okay. I also needed birth control. My name was called, and about an hour later I was on my way.

I don’t have a life changing tale about how Planned Parenthood saved my vagina. I don’t think I need one. Yes, my story is pretty mundane, but without Planned Parenthood, would I even have one to share? I can’t afford health insurance, I’m sexually active, and I want to make healthy choices for myself. Planned Parenthood allows me to do so in an affordable way.

If Planned Parenthood ceases to exist, then my mundane gynecological visits do, too.

So why are congressmen trying to take away my right to ensure I continue to be safe and healthy?



WHAT YOU CAN DO TO FIGHT BACK:

Sign the petition over at http://www.ppaction.org/IStandWithPP

Twitter the hashtag: #IStandWithPlannedParenthood

I'm Going The Distance too.

Of course you guys know me as a lady who partakes in all things nerdy but I have a confession: I love romantic comedies. I love the same, boring old story that goes along with them: guy meets girl, awkward shenanigans ensue and by the end of the movie, a love connection is made. Yeah, its formulaic in script but they make me happy and hopeful while I'm watching them.

This being said, I just got back from “Going The Distance”; a film about two love birds head-over-heels for one another... across the country. If you, the reader, know anything about me (and you probably do) I am in a Long Distance Relationship with a fella who lives way on the other side of the country, so this movie was right up my alley with the feel-good plot of another couple who has to go through what I go through daily.

This movie was torture to watch.

I assumed going into it that it was not at all how normal LDRs work. This is a movie made by the Hollywood Machine, after all. I figured it was going to be about a couple who get to see one another all the time and who are able to maintain a relationship without all the daily nuances in their way. I was dead wrong.

Starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, Going The Distance is about a pair who meet in New York City, have an instant connection, and decide for better or worse to be in a relationship with one another after Erin (Barrymore) has to leave her Summer Internship at a news publication to head back to the West Coast. Garrett (Long) has a job at a Record company and frankly hates his superficial career dealing with manufactured teenie-bop up-and-comings and not with organic underground bands. On the other hand, Erin is working her way through Stanford with a shitty serving job trying to make ends meet.

The two of them cannot afford to fly and see one another all the time. One particular scene that hit home was when Garrett was looking into holiday flights out to San Fran to see Erin and realizes upon searching he could not afford the astronomical prices. My boyfriend and I are in a similar predicament where plane rides are a luxury that neither of us can afford as often as we like but we've made the effort to scrounge up pennies to make it happen.

Between those brief moments of being able to hang around one another, we have to deal with other issues that were brought up in the movie. I am on EST (like Garrett) and my boy is on PST (like Erin) so I've been dealing with late-night skype sessions and phone calls. When we're ready to say goodnight, most of the time I should be saying good morning.

There's also the unique problem LDR couples have to deal with when talking about our relationship to friends and family members. I can't recall the amount of talks I've had with folks about, yes, I understand I get to see my boyfriend once every couple of months and yes, I know you've been in an LDR that didn't work and I totally, completely trust him and know he won't do anything behind my back. Erin and Garrett have to deal with the issues presented to them by people they know as well. Erin, funny enough, has the same kind of protective older sister I do and the dynamic between the two works well.

Besides the physical frustrations that Erin and Garrett face (hi, mom) there are also the emotional ones that play a major part in the foundation of a healthy LDR. When Erin gets a job offer at a newspaper in San Fran, Garrett immediately assumes she has no inclinations to move out to New York as previously planned which starts a fight between them. It is such an easy misstep to make.
Big life changes also effect a person who cannot physically be there with you, making it seem to your partner that you're not “in it” like they are. No one should be put in a situation that makes it seem like you cannot do things to better yourself without it also benefiting the relationship.

With Erin's case, the economy sucks and print papers are laying off people left and right; does she take the job and risk ruining her relationship or does she move out to New York on the slim chance she may find another job like it? Romantically speaking its so easy to think you can pack your things up, shack up with your partner and live happily ever after. In all practicality this can't be done automatically, unless you're well-to-do. I keep my heart on my sleeve but I know I can't do what I want without having money saved up. And trust me, LDRs are expensive on their own without the cost of moving added in. Isn't that what LDRs are all about anyway? The hope of having the end result being that the two of you live in a place where you can see one another all the time? It's a lot of pressure.

Now I won't spoil the end of the movie for you. I will say it was eye-roll inducing. Just because I related to a lot of the goings-on in the film doesn't mean I do not realize the script was slightly generic in story-telling. Walking out of the theater made me realize that I am not so alone in my LDR and issues that have been heart-wrenching are in fact normal. And that's a pretty hopeful thing to know.

Oct. 2009 - Aug. 2010

First off, I cannot believe it's been nine months since I updated this blog! Bad Jessi.

Secondly, and most importantly, I am leaving Girls With Slingshots and my dear friend Danielle to move back to Georgia this week. I know, I know, this is very last minute; however, I couldn't think of a way to announce the move. I have been mulling it over in my head.

And believe me, it's still weird to say (or even write) out loud.

I'm unsure of how much I can disclose to you all, but D is in the process of signing with a company to essentially take care of what I do. I honestly couldn't be happier with her decision. This is going to be huge for Danielle and the future of Girls With Slingshots.

The last ten months have flat-out been the most fun I've ever had working for someone. I was able to learn so much about making comics in my time here as her assistant. Danielle is even more wonderful in person than what her online persona shows; she is as nice as she is humble about her talent.

I cannot begin to explain my gratitude and fortune for getting to tag along with her on trips to various comic conventions. Because of D, I have met so many people I now consider friends. I've been able to share and talk with so many new people/followers on Twitter. I wouldn't have written and drawn my own short-story for an anthology had it not been for Danielle pushing me to do so, making my "art" look better with her inking and getting excited for its release. I also would have never gone to Baltimore Comic Con and met my future boyfriend. ;)

When I met Danielle at Heroescon 2009, she was vivacious, quick-witted, and fun to hang around with after hours at the Westin bar.
The Monday of the con's end, she and I went to a now-defunct restaurant in Charlotte for a quick bite to eat before we parted ways. This quick lunch turned into a five hour conversation, and by the end of it, I thought to myself, "I'd love to be like her when I am twenty-eight."

After these ten months, my mindset hasn't changed one bit.

I may lose a boss in the process, but I'm not losing a person I consider to be one of my closest friends and a mentor. It's been tearing me up knowing that I won't be able to take just a short walk up the stairs in our ancient house to see what she's working on, ask for advice, have a quick laugh, or a shoulder to cry on. Being around a person who is so passionate about what makes her happy solidifies why I want to make comics, too.

So long Danielle and this little town I've called home for almost a year. You will be missed.

Danielle and I; my first day as her assistant
Oct. 2009