Sister Sister
I've always been really inspired and in awe of women who take initiative and who create the world that they want for themselves. Whether it's fashion, business, building orphanages, entrepreneurial work, design, etc... it's inspiring.
Women are the nurturers of the world; but our definition is not only to make babies and cook dinners. "Hello, can I order to-go?" is probably one of my most used phrases. I'm sure some of you can relate.
Anyways, back to being inspired... It is especially inspiring when a woman works with other women to makes changes affecting more female lives. (Insert girl power emoji) Lately, I've noticed more of my female friends networking and doing projects together and it makes my heart so happy.
It's incredible the older you get, the more you crave female friendship. The old high school mean girl "You can't sit here" mentality (if you ever thought this way) ends in high school, ladies. Becoming a woman should equal maturity and security in one's self. Feeling a need to compete with other women is immature, but sadly, this idea is fed to us through most media outlets.
In the media, woman are almost always portrayed as rivals. Try and think of a movie or TV show where two friends are succeeding in their careers. It's almost always one or the other that is successful, but never both. What about Instagram and how we have become obsessed with being models through our social feed? These "free" apps control what we buy and how we think we ought to live our lives. We compete through likes and dislikes. The social media world is an unreal world full of pretty filters, plastic surgery, and editing, yet we succumb to most if not all of these of these things to look more like what we've been shown is the "ideal look".
What most people forget as they scroll down their timeline is that the media distorts the truth. The truth is that girls can be friends. You don't have to be alone in front of your illuminated phone screen complaining about all of your "haters". Girls don't need more makeup, a new phone, a new app, or plastic surgery to be happy, to have friends, or to have better opportunities. If you want any of those things, that's great, go get 'em. The point is you don't need them to compete in this world.
So, yes, the competition is intense, but what if we backed away from the competition and decided to compete together? What would happen if women championed each other? What would happen if we treated each other like sisters, instead of enemies?
Sadly, it is often hard to find encouragement from your peers. Whether your peers are your coworkers, your employees, your teammates, your friends, or fellow moms; it can be really tough to find women who will support you. Women on their grind are often called crazy, bossy, a hot mess, sassy, and unfeminine. Deep down, beautiful strong women are insecure because they never hear love and affirmation from the people around them.
Here’s a reminder: We need each other.
It is important that you realize that we all have similar challenges and experiences that we face every day. Women have a unique ability to understand and share the same feelings as another. You may think that there is no other boss woman out there that is as fierce and career minded as you, but there are so many. This is why we must connect and give each other a chance… Even if it is only one chance. Open yourself up to the people around you because there is more in common between us than we think. Between balancing school schedules, to cleaning our homes daily, to preparing meals for the week, to making ourselves presentable at 7am, to managing our careers, to scrubbing poop out of the carpet (whether from pup or baby) we basically keep the world spinning at the proper speed. Not only that, we also mentally carry the burdens and needs of our spouses, kids, and friends. We are always problem solving and making ourselves the responsible party when things aren't right. We give so much of ourselves for others that we run ourselves empty. In order to become the best version of ourselves, we must not be running on fumes. Having a conversation with another woman who understands is so refreshing and can completely turn our day around. It is time for us to start allowing other women to be a part of our lives as well as being a good friend to the women around us.
Here are simple steps that you can take to spread the love to the women around you.
- Start with a smile. Smiling at one woman that passes you by can actually lift her mood because women are empathetic creatures and we often will match the pain or joy level as another person.
- Give someone that you don’t know well a chance. Don’t be fake; be genuine and try.
- Complement in a sincere way. Instead of making a comment about her shoes, actually complement an admirable trait about her.
- Celebrate when someone succeeds. Put your selfishness on the back burner and appreciate the moment that she is in.
- Be positive. There are so many negative words swirling around us daily, don’t add to it. Always look on the bright side of everything. Find something positive even in the midst of disaster. Seasons change and people grow through them. Always be the friend that someone can turn to for encouragement in a tough time.
