Today (Wednesday, March 8) is International Women’s Day, and I am conflicted as to how I should celebrate.
Let’s take a look at the past year’s events around women in my life.
A few things happened to me that increase my confidence in women as well as myself. But it also reminds me that being a woman comes in many forms.
I graduated from college with my journalism degree in December. In 1969, women who had a degree started out as typists (brief writers) rather than full-time journalists. I was able to become a full-time journalist in June 2022, before I even graduated.
In September, I became engaged to a man who supports my career choices and doesn’t question my opinions. It is very much a team effort.
On the job, I wrote nearly 500 stories in nine months of being at the Observer. But, everyone knows quality tends to be best over quantity. Even still, I got to meet many women in the Rio Rancho business world via my job.
My mom, a school teacher and union president in Rio Rancho, impresses me daily with her skills in the classroom and with addressing issues in the teacher world alongside the school district.
I also gained a new boss. She is a hard-working editor with growing kids at home. Since her recent appointment in January, I have become more confident in my work.
My best friend is a working military girl who just got engaged. When we reconnect, it is like no time has passed.
Another friend of mine is going to school for her nursing degree right now and is getting started as an adult in life. Which, from experience, I can say isn’t always easy.
These hard-working women in my life show me how much we have achieved as a whole.
However, there is still work to do. Women in Afghanistan are back to square one with the Taliban. Women in the U.S. are still cat-called by men on the streets. Women are still attacked daily in droves because people can’t keep their hands to themselves.
Little girls are still told what they should do with their lives.
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a writer. And here I am.
