I often ponder what it means to be a woman. The dictionary doesn’t help much as it provides mechanical answers that lack depth. And the more I try to fit all the answers into a box, the more puzzling it becomes.
How then do I explain a being simple and yet so complex? How do I summarize a being wonderfully created with so much careful attention to detail? So, I sought to search around me.
I have seen a woman enjoy a game of football and scream blue murder at a card shown to a player on the team she supports. Or a penalty wrongfully awarded to an opposing team. After the game, off she went for a beauty treatment and to have her nails done. I have seen women binge-watch wrestling shows and make accurate predictions of the fight but become clueless about the outfit to wear for a date with guys they love. I have seen women who hold intelligent conversations on topical issues but become painfully shy when in close contact with their crush.
Don’t get me started on the mood swings! I have seen women so happy one minute and the next, bawl their eyes out for no reason. I have watched women grow red horns to protect those they love and the next minute, crawl up in a ball at the discomfort caused by cramps. I have seen women become sarcastic, sweet, and mean in a matter of seconds. I have seen strong women who have it together break down at the sight of their child in pains they feel powerless to relieve. I have seen women juggle career, education, and family life, wondering at the unending well they draw their strength from.
I could go on and on.
A woman is made up of a bit of everything. Some of these sides complement each other. More often than not, they do not. I have been lucky to be around great women – the aged and wise, the housewife, the career-oriented, the single, the divorced, the widowed, the married, the unemployed – each with differing philosophies about the being called woman. These views are backed by their cultures, religions, personal and societal expectations.
They are entitled to their ideologies just as I am to mine. For me, the being called woman is defined by the strength of her character and her refusal to be restricted within the confines of a box, be it self-inflicted, societal, religious, or cultural. Being a woman is embracing your self-pride, fortitude, courage, and tenacity that already lies within. It is having the guts to surpass the limitations placed on you by mere reason of gender. Being a woman is refusing to allow your supposed weaknesses define who you are or who you would become.
Finally, being a woman is much more than biology or science; it entails making an impact in your society and touching lives in ways that matter the most. I am still on the path to becoming the woman I hope to be insanely proud of; one my children will call blessed. For now, however, I take pride in the fact that I was created a woman and I have nothing but love and admiration for the person I see staring in the mirror.
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Love,
Diane.
