Celebrities Don't Mean Much

International Women's Day is just around the corner. This is the time we take to reflect on which woman, or women inspires us. Of course, this would be challenge made by Vocal, which I am glad that it is. This also means I need to really think about this challenge and rise to it. Honestly, I could write about myself very easily as i feel like I have been through a lot, but that would sound too selfish and as the quote in Barbie goes: "It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.

You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people.

You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.

But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.

You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.

I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know." (https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a44725030/america-ferrera-barbie-full-monologue-transcript/. web. February 29, 2023.)

I know this quote says a lot and it is a lot, but that is literally the most relatable thing any woman has ever heard, whoever wrote the script really pinpointed on what the struggles are of being a woman. We struggle so much with this on the daily that it is unreal. We have to do all of this and still have a period. I am not a man-hater by any means, but I wish that some of them knew about the struggles that we do and at the same time I feel like men are always hated on and do not get enough credit.

Here's the thing though I never looked up to celebrities, because to me they are not real. I don't actually know them, so how can I look up to someone I barely know. That makes absolutely no sense to me. I've probably said this before but you should not be looking up to someone who you do not know, you don't know their demons or what they've done in the past. Yes, we are all inperfect. So, I think for this challenge, I will talk about the two women in my life that I have looked up to since my birth. Those two women are my older sisters. They have been by my side through everything, they watched me grow up into the person I am today. They still probably see me as young and twelve years old. Us sisters did everything together and unlike most older siblings they let me hang out with their friends. We shared a room for a large era of our lives, which was so much fun but I understand why my mom was so tired all the time.

Anyways, both of my older sisters now have sons and it gets busy with both of them, but I can look up to their parenting skills once I have my own children. That’s been the best thing about being the youngest everyone has already done what you’re about to do. When came to going to a new school they drew me a guide so I wouldn’t get lost. Yes, I get lost very often. I’m blessed to have such a close relationship with my sisters to give me the great advice and to hang out with, they are my friends for life. I feel that our relationship has changed after my bachelorette though, we did not grow up in the sort of family that talked about uncomfortable topics and sex just happens to be one of those topics. At my bachelorette that changed and somehow it was a realization that I can talk to them about anything and everything. It was like a load off my chest.

I never saw myself as successful because I felt like I was competing against my older siblings. There is my oldest sister doing her post-doctoral research in Vancouver, my other sister who became an elementary teacher and the first one of us to become a mom. Then there was just me an admin assistant it doesn’t sound luxurious… however then my husband said something which was mind-blowing he said “they are not there to compare, you need people in your life to uplift you and encourage you”. That whole idea shifted in my head that I am not as worthless as I saw myself. The people you surround yourself with are the people that influence you the most. If I saw my sisters as successful I could see myself doing that as well. I am sure that both my sisters have their downfalls but honestly I barely see it. Their strength is what gets me through anything, I see how hard they work at everything they have. Neither of them gave up their jobs to be a mom, both of them skipped the epidural while giving birth, both of them own houses in this awful market, both of them own nice cars, both of them travel either to far away countries or to near by mountain resorts. It seems to me that they do it all. This tells me one thing and that’s that I can do it all as well. I can have a great job and a great home life at the same time.