The Voices Behind Her Flowers: Part 1

By: Daniela E. Miranda

My name is Daniela, or Dani for those who know me well. I am a Latina-American woman, born in Puerto Rico but having spent my adolescent years in Houston, Texas. Our home was a warm, loving household where my mom kept our Latinx culture alive (gracias Mami!) despite our white, middle class surroundings. 

I spent most of my teen years hating the fact that I spoke Spanish––I was embarrassed that my middle name was Eugenia, and I didn’t understand why my mom could not pronounce things the way I considered to be “right.” However, I would still get mad when someone would call me the English version of my name, “Danielle,” or accidentally wrote my name with two ‘L’s and forget to add the ‘A’ at the end. To be honest, I still get offended by its misspelling.  

I figured that my negative attitude towards my Latinx background was because I was a “bad” person with a lack of personality, and I came to explain this away as my angsty teen years. I did not understand the feelings or dissonance around my teen experience until much later, when I was in my mid-twenties. 

Today, I am finishing my Ph.D. in community psychology. My work focuses on understanding the role of power in minority women's experiences through an intersectional lens. I now know that my teen experiences were not attributed to being a fundamentally bad person––I was a young Latina girl trying hard to mimic and assimilate into the powerful, white world around her. I couldn’t figure out how to negotiate my multiple identities or how to critically think about them. I’m still trying to figure it out.

Our Origin Story

I was never alone on this journey. I had Julie, one of my best friends: the critical thinker, public health student, mental health expert, the third Jewish person I knew by the time I was 18 years old, and my favorite person to make an egg breakfast with.

We are officially the co-founders of Her Flowers. This is our story. 

Julie and I have been best friends since 2010, when we were college roommates at Boston University. A special part of our friendship has always been challenging each other, questioning the world around us, and our shared urgency for change. Even when our interests diverged, they would somehow find their way back to each other. Her Flowers is the product of years of our true-blue friendship and our desire to create something together. 

Throughout the pandemic and protests, we questioned one another, specifically our relationships and the state of the world in general. I felt stuck, lonely, angry, and sad, and needed to channel these feelings into action. 

That’s how Her Flowers began: a convergence of our need for purpose, for seeking time and space to have meaningful conversations around ongoing issues, and ultimately to invite others to join the conversation.

Now that Her Flowers has started to solidify its foundation, we want the world to know the women behind it: not just Julie and I, but the founding teen members as well. In a series of posts, we’lll introduce the voices behind Her Flowers. You’ll hear from Julie, co-founder and therapist; Ava, a rising high school senior from Colorado; Elina, an 8th grader from California; and me, Daniela (with one L and an A at the end of it). But you can call me Dani.

Our Purpose

Julie and I have wondered how our lives would look if we had started these conversations with our peers earlier. What would the world look like? Why were we not engaged in this work until our 20’s (AFTER receiving a college education)? 

We wondered if there were young women trying to have these conversations, and if they had a space where they felt comfortable enough to be their honest selves? 

For us, the purpose of Her Flowers was clear: we wanted to create a space for young women to discuss issues of race, oppression, and privilege––and feel okay messing up in the process. Somewhere that the tough questions could be asked, while remaining a community. A space that was missing from our teenage years.

For Julie, Her Flowers is all about creating community and connection for the younger generation: “This group is a way for young women to process what's going on in the world around them and to connect with other young women while doing it. I want to help teens feel safe and supported as they learn to understand what it means to be anti-racist in today's world.”

For many of the young women, this group gives them a space to discuss issues they may face in the real world. Ava believes the purpose of Her Flowers is “to create a space for teens to discuss issues of racism so that when they enter into other settings (classes, debates, etc.), they have a strong understanding of the foundations of oppression so that they are able to build on that knowledge and find ways to try to address those issues.” 

Ava focuses her anti-racist work on learning the history and politics around systems of oppression. She bravely questions her place in these systems, and through a deeper understanding begins to take action. Her knowledge shines through in our meetings (she always shares the best articles!). 

Elina believes that “the primary purpose of Her Flowers is inspiring the next generation (my generation, gen-z) of young women to use their voices and stand up for others.” She uses her creative forces to connect with other individuals and groups through meaningful engagement via social media platforms for social justice purposes.

Her thoughtfulness and willingness to grow in this space is palpable. After being off social media for a while (I’m one of those people who deleted my Facebook, muted family/friends’ Instagram stories - sorry guys!), Elina is teaching me to rethink my relationship with social media and start seeing it as a tool for change. 

What’s next

In the next post, you’ll hear more from all of us, particularly around the magic of an intergenerational group. Stay tuned!