Serenity* is a powerful, intelligent, willful, courageous woman who is loving, kind and cares deeply about those she loves. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, and bravely stands up for her values. She is currently in her early twenties and living in California. She is a talented musician, more specifically a cellist, and teaches cello performance when she is not pursuing her education to become a physician.

She has a passion for helping others and has always been outspoken about speaking up against injustices, done to her and/or others. A part of her story that Serenity shared with us is that she was sexually assaulted by a supervisor while working in a science lab during her undergraduate years. She had the courage to label what had happened to her as sexual assault immediately, and spoke out about her experience to those in power who could help her. She went to the Human Resources department of the lab she was working in. Unlike her expectations, they dismissed her experience and rewrote her narrative to label her the cause of the assault. They told her that she should have been more modest with her clothing when all she wore was strict lab dress code- boxy colored shirt, long loose jeans, tennis shoes and no jewelry or makeup. She should not have talked about her personal matters with her perpetrator when all she had discussed with him was strictly lab research matters. Even so, she knew what had happened to her was wrong, and would not let anyone tell her differently.

Using her cello to process her pain, the visceral feeling of tugging onto the cello and the vibrations of the notes she played flowing through her being was an incredibly healing experience. Through music, she was able to process things that she did not have the words to describe yet, but felt deeply. Playing the cello reinforced what she knew to be true, about herself, about life, and the world. She would not let people who wanted to dismiss and tear her down gaslight her into thinking what she knew was wrong. She held firm in her conventions, a warrior fighting for herself. She would not be silenced, and the strength of her story being told would reverberate through her body and others like the notes of her cello though a slanted bow.
The Prelude of Bach's Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, played by HH musician Sophie Paek, was requested by Serenity to accompany her story as this particular song helped her find peace during her experience at the lab. It became one of her favorites like a constant friend that reminds her of her courage and resilience. The poem, written by HH poet Danielle Snaza, includes phrases that Serenity said in her interview with the intention of capturing her authentic voice and to affirm that this is her story to tell. Serenity has bravely shared her story with us, and we at Healing HeARTs want to respect the trust she has placed in us to share her experience.

Serenity is an advocate for women everywhere, who have been marginalized and silenced. She is dedicating her life to helping others to be heard, acknowledged and healed. Still a lover of science, Serenity plans to pursue medicine with the precise purpose of caring for the whole person she will have the privilege to work with.

We wish Serenity all the best on her journey, and thank her for letting us be a part of it. We hope that all who engage in her story witness the powerful, courageous, and kind individual she is. We also hope that it encourages them to be courageous and to find the words to speak their mind and what they know to be true.

*In order to remain anonymous, this woman has chosen the pseudonym Serenity.

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