Written by Faith Swartzendruber and Dani Tietz
Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day. It’s also recently heralded as a “Day Without a Woman”. A day when women are supposed to wear red, not go to work, not spend money in stores, to protest and give to charitable organizations that advance our values. If that’s not telling women what they can and cannot do, I don’t know what is.
Basically, women, you can do a couple things today-one of which is let the men go out and prove their worth to the world. For me, I don’t need to prove my worth by going to work or by not going to work. I don’t need to wear red to draw attention to the fact that I am a woman. And I don’t need to sit in my home with my lights off and not eat all day because I’m not supposed to spend money.
Instead, I will go support a woman who is packing bags of food for children who live in low-income houses. I will work with a man who is trying to build up his business. I will go talk to a friend who is hurting. I will talk to a woman who is about to become the superintendent of our schools. I will help a man learn how to use social media effectively. I will write an article and work with my seven marketing clients. And then, when my kids come home from school early, I will talk to them, maybe watch a movie with them or take them out to have fun. And they will also see me, a woman, their mother balance work and home life as I make them dinner. And then, after dinner, I will go to a meeting with six other women to plan a party for a man who has changed the way that we all look at love.
Nope, it’s not always easy. And maybe I deserve some more thank yous and recognition, but that’s not really a priority for me. And neither is getting recognition from men or from society. I don’t need to sit on the sidelines while I Instagram my husband making the kids’ lunches so that I can get a thank you for my role in this family. And I don’t need to call all of my clients to tell them that I will be taking a day off so that they can realize the value I have in their organization.
I don’t need to protest and participate in movements so that I can get on the local or national news so that a man or men, who apparently run this world, can give me a high five and say, “Oh yes, I was wrong, you have definitely proved your worth to me today.”
Instead, I am a priority for me. I know my value. I. know. my. value. It’s never come with a trophy or a pat on the back. It’s always, always, always come from both trials and overcoming mistakes that I have learned the value of intrinsic motivation. An intrinsic motivation and confidence that says I can do anything I desire and put my mind to. This does not mean that I can do anything I want, but anything I put my mind to.
I have hopes and dreams and ambitions, and I’m not going to let men or women tell me what I can or cannot do because I’m “supporting a larger cause”.
You see, I’m not going hope that some man sees my worth and place in this world. I am a woman who has created countless opportunities for myself, and today, I will proudly be out there participating in those opportunities with other women who are doing the same thing.
