What does the Year of the Woman mean to you?
With it being the Year of the Woman it’s really got me thinking about so much differently…
How do you feel?
I feel inspired, passionate, proud, enlightened and motivated.
Before last night I had never really thought about what it truly means to me to be a woman (to be honest I’ve never really and truly looked at myself). I had never felt the strength and determination that I feel in my gut this morning.
If you look back over time, women have acheived so much.
This is a tiny amount of some of the things we have achieved:
Amelia Earhart – The first woman to cross the Atlantic by plane in 1928.
Kathryn Bigelow – First woman to win an Oscar for Best Director in 2010.
Sojourner Truth – Escaped slavery in 1928, first woman to take a white man to court to recover her child. Also vocal supporter for womens rights.
Sally Ride – First woman to enter low orbit and youngest American woman to enter Space.
Rosalind Franklin – The critical part in understanding the molecular structure of DNA.
Rosa Parks – Civil Rights Activist.
Marie Curie – Only woman to win a Nobel Prize in 2 fields.
Margaret Thatcher – First and longest serving female Prime Minister in UK.
Molly Brown – Survived the sinking of the Titanic and convinced crew to go back for survivors.
Florence Nightingale – Considered the Founder of Modern Nursing.
Emily Davison – Died for Womens right to vote.
The women named above are truly inspirational. They stuck with their beliefs and didn’t let being told NO stop them. Although they weren’t always perfect, they were true innovators and paved the way for what women are able to achieve today.
They fought for women to be equals. So why do we as women today regularly not stand together for what really matters? Shouldn’t we be building each other up, and not knocking each other down?
We as women today do not give ourselves half as much credit as we deserve. I know for sure that in the past, I haven’t.
For example let me ask you these questions:
Do you judge yourself negatively?
Do you compare yourself to other women?
Do you think that your NOT good enough?
Do you push yourself harder than you know you should, causing unnecessary suffering to yourself?
I mean those are just examples and to be honest I do all of them. The worst thing is I don’t want to do them, I don’t even realise that I’m doing it, and I know that these things are just in my head but still… until now I’ve done nothing about it.
For years I’ve constantly put myself down, always thinking things like:
I’m not pretty enough and that I needed to find a way to improve what I look like.
My body doesn’t look like hers so I need to change it.
I’m fat and unattractive because I have cellulite on my bum and thighs, and stretch marks on my tummy and backs of the legs.
Not confidently smiling because my teeth are not the perfect shade of white.
Asking my gorgeous husband why he’s with ME, he could do so much better, as there are millions of better looking women out there.
Wishing I had the life of someone I assume and perceive to have it all.
NOT wanting to make friends with new people, because they’re too pretty/good-looking to want to talk to someone like me. They’re better than me!
While writing this I’m reading it back and feeling really sad…
Who is this person? Is this really me?
When did I become this sad, lonely, unconfident, self-critical person that’s just existing in the background?
For years now I feel I have just been like I said above, existing in the background, in the shadows. Letting life pass me by!
But why? What am I afraid of?
And the answer is MYSELF!
We live in a world today where everything is on show. To be scrutinised.
Only I can stand strong and stop self sabotaging. Stop being afraid to live the life I was given.
Your probably thinking, But what about all the negative points and feelings you stated about yourself?
Well I’m going to tell you. They’re still there, but just not in the way they were before. I am now just looking at them from a different angle.
So instead of the negatives above, I’m thinking I’m me. Even though I thought those things, not everyone thinks that about me…
With that being said, it doesn’t matter what people’s opinions are of me, because I’m a kind, generous and loving person.
Yes I have cellulite, stretch marks and I have gained weight and I am now a size 14… but who cares? I’m healthy and I have 4 beautiful children to show for it. I earned my stripes!!!
I might not have perfectly white teeth… but who cares? At least I have teeth!
When asking my husband the same question over and over again, he always says the same thing…”I dont want anybody else. I married you because I love you for the person you are and to me you’re gorgeous.”
My life is far from perfect, but upon reflection, why would I want to change it? I love my little family, and we are truly blessed for what we have and extremely lucky to be in the position we currently are in.
So with that being said, today I’ve made the decision to make the change. Today I have made the decision to just be ME!
I know that I will become a Strong, Fearless, Fabulous woman, that will strive to make positive changes to the world we live in, who is taking control of her own destiny and will start living outside of her anxiety box.
One step at a time. x
