When thinking about what to write this week, I decided to write about the one thing I think is most important in life.
Women supporting women in every aspect of life.
That means supporting your friends in their healthy relationships, supporting women’s desire for a career change, their entrepreneur desires, creating an open safe space for your co workers, supporting their social media presence and giving words of affirmation, supporting whatever is a priority in women’s life and let them know that their decision is the right decision.
This also means supporting the woman in your shared spaces, the women who run businesses in your neighborhood, the women who support you, the women running for office in you local community, the women whose identity or story you don’t know, understand or agree with.
It means talking to your mom, sister, grandmother, cousins, nieces, friends, about everything and anything.
We have spent too much of our amazing power, because we as women are powerful (and we know it) tearing each other down, believing there is only space for one of us at the table or in the room, when in reality there is always space for more. We have spent too much of our power trying to fit into molds created by people who don’t know us, who don’t understand us, who believe that all women can be labeled, as geeky or smart, pretty or sporty, girly or tomboy, and many more labels that simply don’t deserve a time or a place in our world.
We women have a wide variety of skills, abilities, interests, powers and knowledge that can change the world. But instead we have used them to tear the most vulnerable women in our surrounding down, because we feel threatened by their presence, because we have been raised to believe that only 1 of us is allowed to speak up.
I come from a long line of powerful women, many of them who’s up bringing was similar but their stories are completely different, I come from a line of women who told their husband, you are not traveling to the other side of the world by yourself I am coming with you. I come from one of the founders of the suffragist movement in Puerto Rico. You and I come from women who educated themselves, worked and were able to support themselves without a man in times where this was not accepted. From women who decided they wanted to stay home and raised the kids, but went back into the workforce when times were tough because, ‘We do this together” was their way of life. You and I come from women who built their own business and even when they failed they continue to try again. You and I come from women, who didn’t plan on being single mothers, but the put their boots own and made it work. You and I come from women who where repeatedly told ‘you are not enough’, but they still made it. You and I come from women whose life path was completely different than yours and mine, but we are still as powerful as they where.
Every woman in my life is completely different, even the ones who share the DNA and upbringing. And each and everyone of them is incredibly special to me, and gets my support in everything they do because supporting them is the best feeling I could ever have.
I support the single mom’s in my life, because dammit they are the bravest people I know.
I support my entrepreneur aunt, no matter what she does, because her tenacity is what I strive for.
I support my 7 year old niece, in her dream of being a dog rescuer, because her heart should never become smaller.
I support the LGBTQ+ women in my life, because maybe just maybe, my smile is the one thing that lets them know they deserve to be in this world.
I support my mom, trying to figure out her life, now that she has an empty nest, because starting your life over from 0, is the hardest choice anyone can make.
I support my best friend, in every crazy new project she does, because dammit she is extremely talented and the world should see her
I support my grandmothers crazy thoughts because my time with them is precious.
I support my cousin in med school, because no one should be alone in times of hardship.
I support my friend when she just need to talk because that is what we do.
I support my nieces lets go dancing idea because they deserve they world.
I support every crazy, what the hell, maybe tomorrow, life, food, environment changing decision, everyone in my space makes, because the warm fuzzy feeling I get is the best feeling in the world.
By Ada
