We live in a world where we forget to congratulate ourselves for the little things that we accomplish every single day. Being a girl is hard. It’s seriously not fair that we have to pay monthly for tampons and pads, and eventually we’ll be pushing out babie(s), while our guys stand on the sidelines and cheer for us. The milestones we as women encounter only make us better and stronger. So let’s give ourselves a pat on the back for the things we’ve done, received, and look forward to in our lives:
1. First Crush: It’s third grade and the boy who threw dirt in your hair and called you ugly is finally being nice to you. He most likely invited you to throw the tennis ball against the wall with his friends because you actually seemed “pretty cool”.
2. Buying your first bra: Your boobs are little mosquito bites, but Rachel who sits next to you in class is bragging about the bra her mom bought her, so you beg your mom to take you to Limited Too for your first training bra.
3. Getting your Period: It sounds like the worst accomplishment ever, but when you were 13 and finally got it, you were officially a women introduced to real women struggles.
4. First Kiss: You’ve seen it done a million times on TV, and you couldn’t wait for your crush to walk up to your locker and plant a beautiful kiss on you. Unfortunately, chances are your first kiss was an awkward encounter with your guy friends playing truth or dare in a basement.
5. First time getting drunk: You and your friends were sleeping over your friend’s house, and her parents finally fell asleep so there was easy access to the liquor cabinet. We soon realized it wasn’t as fun as we thought. It was filled with hangovers and getting caught.
6. First time being in love/getting your heartbroken: The older boy who treated you so well and claimed to have “loved you”, dumped you and carried on with is days like nothing happened. You lived and learned and grew from this. Your skin got thicker and your heart got stronger.
7. First time having sex: Some people may regret it, and others may remember it as a beautiful memory. Chances are the first time was a whole lot of “where does this go?”
8. First friend you lost: She was your best friend, but somehow the boy she dated was better than you, and the girls who seemed cooler than you became her new best friends. This hurt more than any other breakup, and chances are it still hurts today.
9. First College acceptance: The key to leaving your town that no one ever gets out of. It was a reassurance that your hard work in high school paid off.
10. First time hitting rock bottom: It was the time you really messed up. You had no faith in yourself what so ever, and there was no way you could possibly get any lower than you were. But look at you now, you made it.
11. First time traveling the world with friends: Finically managing and exploring the depths of the universe with your favorite people. What’s better than that?
12. First full time job: The job applications have ended and you finally landed your dream job, making as much money as you hoped for. You’ll never work a day in your life if you do what you love, remember that.
13. First House: We’ve all dreamt of how the guest room on the third floor across from the full bathroom is going to be decorated. Now that you’ve bought the house, the dream comes to life.
14. First time being a bridesmaid at a wedding: Your best friend finally settled down and welcomed you into her special day. Tears fill you and your best friend’s eyes because she finally found the one.
15. First engagement: The weekly manicures are over because you finally got the ring that you have been dreaming of since you were in 4th grade.
16. First wedding: You finally found the one.
17. First child: The first of many or the one and only. You’re new pride and joy will change you forever.
So smile and enjoy being a woman, girls always have more fun anyway!