Not too long ago, an image of a tweet went viral on my timeline on Facebook. I was so impressed by the girl described in the tweet that I had to share the image as well. The tweet was from a woman who said she was having a talk with little children and she asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up. A girl in the class said she wanted to be a Governor and all the boys in the class said, “That’s for boys.” Before the woman was able to correct their impression, the girl said, “Then I will be the president.” I couldn’t help but give her mental applaud … Oh yes, that’s what we are talking about. I wish I could see that girl and give her a hug. But more, I wish I could see her parents and thank them for imbibing such strength of character in her.
It starts from the home; a baby is not born thinking, “oh, I’m a girl; there are certain things I can’t do.” No, the home and society does the brainwashing. When I was growing up, I thought, just like my mates, that there were certain things I needed to do as a girl and certain things my brother had to do as a boy. Topmost of it was that I would get married and have my family someday, so I had to start learning how to be a good wife. Most of the things I did were based on what would keep me married. The boy, on the other hand, did not exactly need to learn to be a good husband; it would magically fall on him, at least that’s what society thinks.
Thank God I outgrew out of that kind of thinking and now know there is so much I can do besides being a mother and a wife. Oh, I am not one of those who scoff at family; I think being a mother and a wife is beautiful but I don’t think that’s all we are meant to be. We don’t have to fit into the box society tries to fit us in; we can be so much more. You don’t have to be a teacher because you are a woman; you don’t have to be a nurse because you are a woman. You can be a doctor, an engineer, a pilot, an astronaut, a politician; you can be whatever. And while you understand this, please teach it to your children as well. Teach your girls that the world is theirs to play with and the skies theirs to soar; they must not be one or the other because they are females, they can have it all. And teach your sons that girls are not only made for the home and supposed “women’s jobs”, they can do anything they want to do and it would not stop the shine of the boys because the sky is large enough to accommodate us all. Teach them that a powerful and successful woman is not a threat to his success, he can be powerful just as she can.
We can all be powerful together. Imagine a world where we are all achieving purpose and reaching our potentials. How amazing that would be.