March 8th – mark your calendars because it is International Women’s Day! International Women’s Day is not just a day for women, but it’s a day for everyone to celebrate the women in their lives. This day celebrates mothers, daughters, friends, and for women, a day to celebrate themselves. A lot of people ignore International Women’s Day because they don’t believe themselves to be “feminists,” but that’s not what this day is for. This day celebrates all women from all walks of life. It is not a day that men should roll their eyes at because they don’t want to take it seriously. It is not a day women should roll their eyes at because they are sick of hearing about women’s rights. It is a day when men and women should look around them and appreciate all of the women in their lives that have had an impact of any kind on them. This day celebrates all of the strong amazing women in the world. This day celebrates YOU.
To me, International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate who I am and where I come from. I was raised in a home that encouraged me to follow my dreams and to be who I am, no matter what. My parents let me be the ‘girly’ girl I was; they let me pierce my ears, dress in skirts and dresses everywhere I went, play Barbies with my sister and just be a girl. But being a girl who loved playing with my mom’s makeup and jewelry did not stop my parents from also letting me embrace my “boyish” side too. My dad brought us camping and he didn’t care that I wore a skort to go exploring in the woods. He would bring my sister and me on snowmobile rides and before we knew it, we had our own little snowmobile too. My parents let me be whoever I wanted to be from a young age and they encouraged it. When I did the “stereotypical” girls’ sport and danced through middle school, my entire family came and supported me. When I did the polar opposite and ran track and cross country the next year, my entire family still came and supported me every step of the way. It didn’t matter to them whether I danced in a full face of makeup or if I ran with spit and sweat running down my face; it was what I wanted to do and it didn’t matter if it was “girly” or “boyish” because to my family it was just “me.” Growing up in a place where I was encouraged to do whatever I wanted to do no matter the girly or boyish label and being whoever I wanted to be from the start has shaped me into the strong woman I am today.
International Women’s Day is a day of supporting and appreciating all women in your life. Whether it’s calling your mom and thanking her for all she’s done (I know you’re reading this mom, so thank you for everything you do for me. I love you so much.), calling your grandma, your sister (Hannah, I know you’re reading this too so thank you for being the best big sister. You are amazing and I will forever appreciate our days of playing Barbies when we were kids!!), your girlfriend, wife, friend, or any woman in your life who has made a difference of any kind – appreciate them, and take this day to tell them what they mean to you.
This day is a day to celebrate, to celebrate all the strong, amazing women in our lives. This day is a day for me, for you and for everyone else in between. No matter who you are or what your gender is, today is a day for you to celebrate. Be proud of who you are, be proud to be a woman, or be proud to know strong, amazing women. Take this day as a day to tell the women in your life how truly important they are and to celebrate you.
To all the amazing women in my life: thank you for shaping me into the person I am today and being amazing role models.