What It Means To Be A Woman
Strength. Resilience. Force. Divinity. Compassion. Grit. Fierceness. Empathy.
These are some of the words that come to mind when I think about what it means to be a woman and all of the different ways that I have lived out these words in my own life. To be a woman today carries many different emotions with it. There is a deep sadness in my heart to know that a crucial freedom has been taken from us today, yet there is also a strong core belief that we will not let this injustice prevail.
I remember thinking at a young age, how many ways I had to remember how to keep myself safe. There was a magnitude of possibilities which would impede upon my safety as a woman, and how I was perceived. Not only did I remain mindful of how to remain safe, but the never-ending reminder of how to be taken seriously as woman is still prevalent in my life to this very day. I am constantly reminded of how woman not only fight for physical safety, but most of all…psychological safety.
As I have gotten older and experienced more realities of what our society allows to perpetuate, the more introspective I have become. The more I witness, the more I push to gather more information and guard myself with that information. We hold great power when we take the time to educate ourselves and cultivate strategic power playing. Overturning Roe v. wade is truly sickening and this event has sent shockwaves through our country. The reality is that overturning Roe v. Wade doesn’t just affect women, it affects every individual person in the US. It affects the husband and wife who just found out their pregnancy is ectopic and now threatens the wife’s life. It affects the young woman who was born into poverty and the decision to break the cycle is taken away from her. The justice, economic and personal freedom has just been stripped away from us.
The decision that a woman makes to proceed with an abortion is never a quick or easy decision. It holds a heavy weight and burden to it, and the decision is made with great care. It’s a personal sacrifice that has allowed women the opportunity and freedom to create a meaningful future for themselves. I can’t stress it enough….it is a personal decision.
If there is one thing that I have learned about my generation and the generations younger than me it is one thing…we will not sit back and stay quiet. This adds to the long list of injustices that have perpetuated in our country. But we see it and we will speak on these injustices. The important steps to take from this point on is ensuring that we take action on supporting the organizations that will protect women’s reproductive rights. It will also mean that we continue to exercise our right to vote and come together to ensure that we are a force of good.
Below are some powerful resources that should be shared widely so that more women are helped and taken care of. These resources vary between organizations to donate to, organizations that provide reproductive support to women and insight into upcoming voting that we can take part in:
**The cover photo is not my own, but it only feels right to pay homage to the women who blazed this trail for us**