Being a woman is one of the most rewarding experiences in the world, but it’s also one of the toughest. As you know, every single day, women go through various hardships. However, along the way, there are also some rewarding experiences that brighten the darker moments.
Becoming mothers
One of the most rewarding parts of being a woman – so I’ve heard – is the gift of motherhood. Although I know many girls who are sure they don’t want children (which I completely respect), I personally am beyond excited to be a mom. I want to live my youth to its fullest first, but the thought of having my own little mini-me is so exciting. From what I’ve heard, despite the pain of pregnancy and childbirth, being a mother is one of the most fulfilling roles in the world. It doesn’t seem easy and everything comes with a price, but the love that a good mom offers is unmatched.
Living in consistent fear
Everyone across the world has a set of behaviours they do in order to stick to some form of routine. Whether it’s starting with a shower, eating breakfast, getting dressed followed by a walk or anything in between, we all do something to keep some type of consistency. However, women have an entirely separate set of behaviours stored in our memory that we do to keep ourselves safe. These include carrying pepper spray, locking our car doors as soon as we enter the vehicle, purchasing extra gadgets to ensure our front doors are securely locked, faking a phone call with someone while walking by another individual and, unfortunately, the list goes on. These tactics are rooted in our minds in case someday something awful happens, and we thank God that our friends had their locations on. I have never once met a guy who shares his location with his buddies before going on a first date in case something goes wrong. Not once. This is practically standard practice for women. All in all, this is our unfortunate reality and it sucks, but we do what we need to in order to protect ourselves. If you’re a female student living off-campus or just looking for some extra ways to help yourself feel safer, check out my article on it!
Girl talk
There’s no greater feeling than sitting with your girlfriends, letting hours pass by and just chatting. These conversations always start with something vague and exciting and often lead to specific situations where half the group ends up crying. Often, that’s the best part. I truly think every younger woman needs a few solid girlfriends that they can dive into deep topics with for hours on end (especially after a few glasses of wine).
Expectations…there’s a lot of them
Societal expectations are not a new concept for women. However, living in a world where the invalidation of specific body types, hairstyles, skin colours or facial structures is a normal occurrence points to a larger issue at hand. Every single day, women are told to look a certain way, dress in a specific style or have their mannerisms tailored to perfection to satisfy others (especially men). On the plus side, this ideology is slowly but surely being dismantled as women across the globe are coming together to express themselves, provide inclusivity towards others and normalize bodies that aren’t a size zero, because those standards are simply unrealistic. Despite the expectations, I have a lot of hope for the future. I hope that Barbies everywhere will be realistic standards for little girls to aspire to, I hope to see more women in powerful positions of leadership (shoutout Kamala), and I hope I don’t have to teach my daughter to ignore the boys at school who pick on her size or the other little girls who make fun of her style. I hope we all get better.
We’re like… really hot
One last rewarding experience is, of course, how beautiful women are. Inside and out, women are some of the most resilient and gorgeous specimens on earth and that itself is rewarding. Discovering your worth and beauty as a woman is undeniably fulfilling and the biggest confidence booster ever.
No matter the highs or the lows, the fears or the accomplishments, women are nurturing, kind and statistically proven to be more emotionally intelligent, which says enough for me. Happy Women’s History Month and never forget that men ain’t sh*t!
XO