December 1, 2025
In conversation with a writer recently, I had a sudden thought and blurted out a question: Are you an eldest daughter, by chance? The writer laughed. I laughed. She was, in fact. I am too, and our conversation about the pressure to do our very best work all the time, to go above and beyond, resonated.
The idea of the eldest daughter is one of responsibility, duty, and sacrifice. That can lead to perfectionism, burnout, and anxiety that we’re not doing enough. But when we give ourselves a break to celebrate how far we’ve come, we can accomplish even more.
In this installment of Justice This Week, we’re channeling that eldest-daughter energy—from striking Starbucks workers to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to Black women working for social justice in the South, we’re getting things done.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for—and we’re done waiting.
Dr. Alison Stine
Climate Justice
Senior Editor
