International Women's Day!

I'm never political in person. I'm not even political in private. I just don't consider myself a political person at all. I like people who are nice to others and that's pretty much the end of the story. However, today is international women's day. And maybe you'll say I'm being political for acknowledging this, but I find absolutely nothing wrong in acknowledging the kind, caring, brilliant, smart, strong, powerful women that have shaped who I am.

Anecdote time: So I have kind of unconventional birthdays. Like this year for instance, the ongoing joke was, "What happens when four girls, a mom, and a pastor walk into a bar?" Because that's literally what my birthday was. Well, on my 18th birthday, apart from my friends, I invited all the influential women in my life--teachers, my unofficial editor Mrs. Pam, my to-be publisher, neighbors, her friends who have all been like aunts to me. And I can tell you the impact that each one of them had on my life, but I don't want to keep you here for ten hours. 

Just as it is so important for young boys to have strong, respectable, caring male role models in their lives, it's equally as important for girls have strong female role models, not only in society but also in their personal spheres. 

The women in my life taught me to be proud and confident, to be strong and independent, to be caring and vulnerable, to cook an omelet the right way (I love breakfast). All of these women are doing what they love, influencing others in so many ways that they can't know. 

However, that's not to say I wasn't shaped by men too. My dad is everything to me. In one of my worst years, my sophomore english teacher told me that I was a good writer, encouraged me. Many other men have influenced me and encouraged me to be my best self. 

But today is about women because we rock, because we are equal, even though not all of the world understands that. God did not create as to be subservient but to serve with, to be equal and paired with. Men and women are meant to move through life together, not separate and unequal. 

Kudos to the amazing women today who are shattering glass ceilings, who are doing what they want to do with their lives for their reasons, for their happiness, for no one else. If all of you are lucky enough to have women in your lives like I have, congratulations. If you don't, it's not too late to find them. It's never too late to learn and change and grow. Again, that's what we were made to do.