International Womens Day. A day that can stand for many different things, it can be vague or very political, it can be cultural and social and economic, it can be modern or historical and there’s so much beauty in the meaning behind it and the history of the day but for me and @forsheisyou, it’s about one thing; sisterhood – celebrating women, lifting each other up, being kind to one another, supporting each other and above all, recognizing and reminding each other of our worth and value… because we’re all made of the same stars and you’re not alone in your insecurities, self consciousness, inner dialogue, confusion and doubt.
Ultimately, it’s really just about sisterhood isn’t it. Because how precious are those connections we have with one another. Not only our best friends and the women we are close to, but our fellow women in general, women we encounter in day to day life, from all walks of life. Women share one beautiful trait – we are connected on an intrinsic level, we are all the same. We all have the same fears, confusion, insecurities, worries, body image concerns… to some degree or another, they just come out differently. But that’s where the magic lies, because it’s in that similarity that we can understand each other, show empathy and compassion, lift each other up and support each other.
Today, I want you to know how special and amazing you are. A day to celebrate YOU and realize just how freaking incredible you are.
I think it’s a beautiful day to remember your worth, remember that there’s no need to compare, because you know that woman you’re comparing yourself to? Well she has the same insecurities and fears and internal dialogue as you and she’s comparing herself to someone else too. She’s picking apart what you define as ‘perfection’.
I want you to remember that you can achieve whatever it is in life you set out to achieve. I want you to believe in you. Ahhh there are so many things I want to say and I feel like I’m giving an Oscar speech and the music has started to get me off stage!!
I want you to know that your beauty isn’t representative of what you think ‘beauty’ is, what you’ve been taught and conditioned to see beauty as, I want you to know your worth and know you are beautiful and imperfectly perfect just as you are, and it’s your heart that shines the biggest and brightest. Our differences are our strengths and they’re what make you YOU… and there’s only one of you in this big wide world, how freaking amazing is that. We all have stretch marks and cellulite and scars and flaws and breakouts and times when our jeans are a little tight on the zipper.
We all have trauma and things from our childhood that we often don’t even remember or realize the impact it had on us, that come out as an adult and impact us then, and that’s ok. You’re ok.
We all have things going on inside our head whether it’s anxiety or depression or self doubt or insecurities, we all have that voice in our head and for some people it’s there constantly and others it surfaces from time to time, some people can drown it out easily and others need help to do so. That is ok.
We all have different visions of what our ‘dream life’ looks like and that’s ok, for some it’s becoming a mother and for some it’s not. For some it’s getting married and having a dream wedding and for some it’s not. For some it’s having a wildly successful career and for others it’s being a stay at home mama and for others it’s a mix of both. For some it’s traveling all over the world and for some it’s never leaving home. And guess what? It’s all ok. All of it. We need to stop pitting women against each other, and slamming them for their choices like there is a right or wrong. Because there’s not.
I want you to know that if you can dream it, you can do it. Growing up, my mama always taught me that there’s no such thing as can’t and I truly believe it. If you have a dream and want it bad enough and work hard towards it… you can achieve it. You can be and do whatever you want to. You are capable and the pie is big enough for all of us.
I want you to know that you’re not stuck and it’s never too late. It’s never too late to change lanes or change direction. There’s no right or wrong to your journey, as long as you listen to your heart and let your intuition guide you, you’re gonna be ok.
I want you to know that you’re not too much of anything, you’re not too loud, or too sensitive or too fearless or too conservative or too much of (insert blank here) whatever it is you’re being told you’re too much of. Don’t listen. Be you.
I want you to know that you don’t need to ‘fit in’ you just need to be you, do you.. and that’s it.
The world is full of amazing women, and that includes YOU. We’re all different, yet all the same. You’re not weird and you’re most certainly not alone. We all have times of happiness and joy, sadness and sorrow, times to be courageous and times to be still. We all look in the mirror and hate the face staring back at us, pick out her flaws, pick apart our bodies and then we have times when we take a photo or take a selfie and think ‘fuck I look amazing’, we all have times we’re burdened with worry and anxiety and it feels like the world is spinning faster than we can keep up and then there are times when all is good in the world, we are calm and strong and confident and we’re cruising through life. We all have times of feeling overwhelmed, like we’re drowning and times when we are stand-up-paddle-boarding the shit out of the water. We all have hopes and dreams, and challenges along the way of chasing them, we all get knocked down and struggle to get back up, we all experience deep loss and heart break as well as love and inconceivable joy. We all do it with the help of each other. And at the end of the day, we all just want to love, be loved and feel joy.
We’re all in it together and when we can recognize that, it all just clicks; For, She Is You.
Let’s inspire each other, encourage each other to do our best, let’s be kind to one another, let’s teach our daughters and the generations to come that we’re simply better together, we’re stronger together and we need to lift each other up and remind each other of our glory and worth.. and that it’s ok, it’s ok to feel however you’re feeling right now, because that’s just life and we all experience something similar at some stage or another.
And to you, the woman reading this… you are incredible, you are strong, you are courageous, you are kind, you are sweet, you are lovely, you are resilient, you are inspiring, you are talented, you are real, you are capable, you are significant, you are loved, you are enough.
So Happy International Women’s Day, to all amazing women – everywhere, a day that ultimately, is about sisterhood. We rise by lifting others and that’s what today (and, let’s be honest, every day) is all about. Let’s recognize ourselves in each other, lift each other up, heck let’s stand on each others shoulders if we have to, support, encourage and empower each other. Because we’re better and stronger together and it starts with us. Use today as a reminder to support the women around you, consciously look for ways in which you can be there for them, help them, empower them and remind them other worth and value… but also, ALSO, use today as a beautiful reminder of all that YOU are, all your wonder and magic and down-right-amazingness, because you’re pretty freaking fabulous.