As a woman, I no longer have the time to :
Fake a smile,
Have the capacity to try to be likeable,
Build fake friendships,
Always being polite,

Not saying what’s on my mind,
Settling for less,

Staying quiet,
Being too loud,
Dumbing myself down a notch,

If I am too old or too young,
If I will look good in blue because let’s face it black women get scrutinized by the colour of makeup that we wear,

Staying on social media a little too much,

Worrying too much about my weight, skin, and height,
The pressure from others about having kids at a young age,
Along with what people think if I don’t want kids,
Having marriage be the frontrunner topic in my life as opposed to my career aspirations,
Letting others walk all over me,
Not saying no,
Allowing others to call me a bitch when I know I am right (sorry not sorry),

Asking people permission on how to do my hair,
Being too sensitive,
Not being sensitive enough,
Apologizing for being too aggressive because it is only acceptable when a man acts this way (boys will be boys),
Other women feeling threatened by me do to my looks, brains, power and at times race (some of us hate on one another; it is a general and yet a true statement),
Not uplifting one another,
Enough of the crying and more laughter.

*As women we have a lot of hats to fill along with the pressure from society about what a ‘real’ women is supposed to look like, feel and also the way we talk. But, I choose to live the life in my own terms and speak not only for myself, but for others that need to be heard. In North America… we have the privilege, some more than others, to have our voices heard even on platforms like this. The power can be real.




