“Someday, we will be the ancestors – guiding the steps of those who have come after us,” says 21-year-old Hailey Darby. Inspired by her mother, the Houston, TX resident picked up the habit of walking to build her self-confidence and start a tradition of generational healing in her family. Hailey shared with BlackDoctor.org in her own words how three generations of Black women walking together helped reclaim their light, one step at a time.
My name is Hailey Darby and I am 21 years old. As I begin to write this, fear and self-doubt creep in. Slowly and untimely, they both loom in the back of my mind whispering, “Hailey, you are not talented enough to share your own story.” But this time I will not be silenced. Fear and self-doubt will not keep me in the dark.
At what point did fear and self-doubt become a part of my everyday life? Was it in the sixth grade when I told myself, “Hailey, this year, don’t talk! Your words and voice will be overpowered anyway. You might as well just stay quiet.” I was 12.
Was it in high school when I could not quite measure up to the other girls on the volleyball team because their parents could afford to pay for extra volleyball lessons? At what point did I become so comfortable with doubting my brilliant mind — my worthiness? What point did I become so fearful of what other people thought of me that I began hindering myself from reaching my full potential?
At what point did I start dimming my own light?
Often retreating to our grandmother’s house in southwest Louisiana, my twin sister, Jasmine and I were a part of GirlTrek’s #BlackGirlHealing movement before we even knew it. We’d spend hours walking and talking about any and everything. With each step healing one another through words of affirmation and sometimes through moments of silence filled with encouragement.
We shared our dreams and challenges under 100-year-old oak trees hoping that our ancestors who walked those same country roads were listening and would somehow help guide our steps. Who knew that our ancestors would guide our steps towards GirlTrek.
GirlTrek empowers each woman to be the hero of their own story, but as a GirlTrekker you are never alone. You have 100,000 women dawned in superhero blue that are there to trek alongside you and sometimes it’s a family affair. What initially started as an opportunity for my mom to reclaim her own health, quickly became a healing tradition that would forever impact the dynamic between the women in my family.
Jasmine and I have found so much joy in taking the time out alongside our mother, Cherelle Darby, 53 and younger sister, Asia Darby, 13, to heal our minds and bodies through the many adventures GirlTrek has led us on. GirlTrek has given the women in my family an immense amount of self-discovery.
When Jasmine hears the phrase Black Girl Healing, words that accompany a movement so desperately needed in the community of Black women, she does not only view it in the physical sense of healing her body, but views it as mental healing as well.
Like myself, her mind was darkened by depression, anxiety, and self-doubt and in need of healing. Prior to being introduced to GirlTrek, she was trying to avoid allowing certain circumstances dim the light of her world, but in all honesty, her light was flickering and so very close to being blown out. As one of her mentors once told her, “God may have shut some doors, but there is always a crack in the window.” Through GirlTrek she has been able to let the light beam through the cracks.
With each walk, she learned to perfect her patience, which in turn led her to perfect her peace. There is power in habit. She had to make sure that her habits were ones rooted in self-love and self-care. Walking each day for 30 minutes was just that.
Standing in the forefront of this movement are the many possibilities that are afforded to women from all walks of life and all ages. For some of us what is needed is to physically improve our health, for others it may be to heal our souls, and in many cases it is a combination of things. The experience for us has been one of improving the overall health of our family spiritually, mentally and physically.
We have watched the women in our families give of themselves endlessly with giving very little attention to caring for themselves. How many of us have watched our mothers, grandmothers, and aunts in poor health, yet they continue to nurture and provide for everyone around them?
As young Black women, it is our responsibility to step up and say NO more to self-doubt, NO more to depression and anxiety, NO more to deteriorating health and YES to every aspect of our self-care and our worthiness.
Someday we will be the ancestors – guiding the steps of those who have come after us; letting them know about the power of walking for #BlackGirlHealing. Whether it be under 100-year-old oak trees or through city streets, Black mothers and daughters everywhere will be able to shine their light so bright that they are able to walk themselves to better health.
— Hailey Darby
The Darby women walk five times a week in Houston, Texas. GirlTrek’s 2017 walking season officially opens on April 1. Take a walk. Join a movement: girltrek.org.
BlackDoctor.org is excited for this content partnership with GirlTrek to feature #BlackGirlHealing, an initiative created to document the narratives, struggles and successes of Black women on the journey to living their healthiest, most fulfilled lives through the habit of daily walking. This initiative will further the mission of decreasing health disparities and stigma among women and girls, and further the conversation that self care is a revolutionary act of love. Join the movement at www.girltrek.org.
See #BlackGirlHealing in action!