I went to see Wonder Woman last night and seriously within the first few minutes I was crying and then crying didn’t really stop after that. It might be because I’m on this “empower women” kick but for whatever reason I was unexpectedly moved by seeing strong, powerful women on the big screen. Honestly I’ve been feeling superhero-ed out and so seeing Wonder Woman wasn’t on the top of my to-do list. But then I saw so many woman giving it rave reviews and talking about how powerful it was for them to see and so I figured I better go see it. In the first scenes it’s all women. Strong, powerful, brave women. I kept thinking, “Why does this feel like such a rare, new thing? Women ARE strong, powerful, and brave!” I didn’t think seeing a woman as the hero would have such a powerful impact on me, but I left fired up and passionate about inspiring women to be strong, powerful, and brave. I now have a newfound love for Wonder Woman.
When I was teaching PE at an Elementary School and taught push-ups I would not allow my students to call modified push-ups “girl” push-ups. I did that for two reasons, first because I didn’t want the boys to feel embarrassed if they couldn’t so a full push-up (which, at their age, very few can) and second because doing something an easier way is not the “girl” way to do it. It was crazy to me that even 3rd graders knew the term “girl” push-ups. It made me wonder who was teaching them this. There is an Always campaign where they talk about saying “you ______ like a girl” as an insult. I remember when I first watched it was so proud of those little girls for running hard, fighting tough, and throwing strong LIKE A GIRL. (Go watch their campaign videos and I dare you not to cry.) That’s what we need to be teaching young girls. They are strong, tough, and every bit as capable as the boys.
I recently watched a documentary called Miss Representation (it's on Netflix) which talked about how women are portrayed in the media. They showed young girls talking about how the media affects them. I was broken hearted to hear one girl express worry for her sister who cuts herself because she doesn’t feel pretty enough. Through her tears she asked, “When will it be enough?” I just wanted to find her and her sister to hug them and say, “YOU ARE ENOUGH!” It struck me because I think all women have felt like that at one time or another. We think, I’m not pretty enough, smart enough, skinny enough, loved enough, etc. We need to stop thinking that! You are enough, you are uniquely talented and extremely loved. I think an important way we can fight those thoughts of not being enough is by being kind to each other. If you think something kind about someone- TELL THEM! It’s not weird or creepy, wouldn’t you love it if someone randomly messaged you to give you a compliment? Who wouldn’t love that? So think of someone right now to reach out to and share some love.
Consider this as me sharing my love to you. You are strong, beautiful, talented, and LOVED. Don't let yourself think for a second that you aren't. You have so much love to give, so you can spare a little of that love for yourself. You deserve it.
Consider this as me sharing my love to you. You are strong, beautiful, talented, and LOVED. Don't let yourself think for a second that you aren't. You have so much love to give, so you can spare a little of that love for yourself. You deserve it.
NOW GO SHARE SOME LOVE.
