Happy international women’s day! <3

I was all ready and set to publish something very different today, until I realized that having a blog and considering myself a woman – and a feminist – meant I almost had to honour this occasion. Many of the more known women I admire have been “warming up” to this day all week and I’m a little sad I wasn’t part of it from the beginning. But that doesn’t stop me from getting on board now!

I may not be as clever as to come up with something ground-breaking as the DearMe movement or the HeForShe idea of the lovely Emma Watson, but I can still be part of it. After all, aren’t all us women implicitly part of it? And of course, all you men are more than welcome as well! After all, it’s not like your day gets as much attention, and I’m all about equality!

I have before mentioned I consider myself a feminist. Yes, a feminist. That doesn’t mean I turn my back on anything feminine or that I’m a man-hater. It simply means that I want equality. Equality not meaning that we all are equal (obviously we’re not), but that we all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or even race or social class deserve equal opportunity. That regardless of how different we are, we all deserve the same chances.

A while ago, I talked to some friends about this issue. How still so many women struggle with different salaries, status in the work place or even with being considered “bossy” when playing a leading role in society. They considered it a minor issue, that “we’ve already come so far” and that “it’s really not that bad anymore, especially compared to other places”. They saw no need for feminism in the modern, “1^st” world anymore.

At the time, I wondered whether I had become obsessed, and that maybe people not rooting for feminism anymore meant it wasn’t needed, and that that was a good thing. Then, I took a look at some salary statistics and other numbers of the kind.

Of course, we are no longer as bad as in other parts of the world, and I believe a lot of people have come to share Maisie Williams’ opinion: “A lot of the things (Emma Watson spoke about) I just think “It doesn’t bother me”. I know things aren’t perfect, but there are women in the rest of the world who have it far worse.”

I just can’t help but wonder: does that really mean we should shut up and live with it? Does thousands of people dying of hunger also mean we can’t complain about not having eaten today yet? Does the fact that there are so many homeless now mean we cannot say it’s cold inside? Of course not.

Things aren’t perfect. They aren’t perfect for women here or elsewhere, just as they aren’t perfect for men, for different races or for different social classes, and that’s not okay. For any of them.

I guess what I’m trying to say is: of course we’ve come a long way in the western world, both in gender equality, gender roles and overall equal opportunity, but there’s still so much more that needs to be done. So much more that can be done, regardless of where in the world we are talking about.

So no: never just give up. You’re allowed to make your own situation better, regardless of how bad others have it.

Love,

Naya

2015 is almost here! O already here, depending on when you read this.

It seems like only yesterday I got extremely excited about the last night of the year. 7-year-old me dressed up in the shiniest gown, allowed to wear lip-gloss like the big girls, and my mother changing all the clocks so that we could be in bed by 10, but still celebrate with “champagne” – the sugary raspberry kind – and kisses and good wishes for everyone.

It also seems like only yesterday I set unrealistic after unlikely self-improvement goals for the New Year. You know what I’m talking about… that long, LONG list of unfulfilled resolutions! “I will exercise every week-day” (yeah, right!), “I’ll fit into the jeans, those from 7^th grade” (you’re not 13 anymore, and that’s okay), “I won’t eat junk food” (you enjoy it, why not?), “I’ll work SO hard on ALL my school assignments, even the optional ones”, “I’m going to learn how to speak Italian” (or Mandarin, or Japanese… I’ve been through a few)… the list goes on and on, and on… and I’ve had it with not making it!

As I did not want yet another year of feeling guilty when I skip the gym or procrastinate, I’ve made a list of Realistic New Year’s resolutions, from me to me – thank you, me! – and to all you guys. The kind of list that promises self-improvement and a better you, just not all at once, not all just yet, and none that take too much time or effort – ‘cause ain’t nobody got time for that!

And here it is! My list of Realistic New Year’s Resolutions:

• Get in shape. Not Gerard-Butler-in-300 shape, but more of a I-can-take-the-stairs-without-losing-my-breath type of deal.
• Reduce junk food (homemade burgers and meals without greens do count as junk, and you know it!) to about once a week.
• Go for a walk on less-busy days… aka get out of the house a little; fresh air is good for ya!
• Stop spending money on low-quality crap that you’ll have to replace soon anyways. Save up, get the good stuff and thank me later! And yes, paperback editions of books count!
• Do one thing at a time, and finish what you start. Now, this may seem like a common-sense type of deal, but… as a girl who wants to do everything, and wants it done right this instant, it’s a big deal, and I need to reduce mah stress!
• To. The. Dentist. Again, common sense… “But there’s just so many, much prettier things you could spend your money on”. Shut up, brain! Yes, there are, but none of them will look or feel as pretty if you run around with toothache and a smile that scares children!
• Sleep enough, but not too much. Losing days because “the bed is just oh-so-cosy” and “do I really need to do that now?” is no longer an acceptable excuse!

There you have it! I feel like I can accomplish most of these, and feel confident in my Resolutions. Yet if all else fails, I can just focus on the goal we all should have, which is to write 2015 instead of 2014! You can of course decide to copy this list, get inspired by it, or simply frown upon me because you find it silly! No matter what, I wish you all a great 2014!!

I am off to get prematurely excited about the last night of the year, 21-year-old me dressed in my shiniest gown, wearing lip-gloss like the big girls… only this time I will celebrate at midnight, with real bubbles!

Love,

Naya