Sunday, February 5, 2012

Make Me Proud...

I am no better than the next, but I do have morals, I do have views, and I do have opinions...
But Never have I considered them to be anything MORE THAN THAT.
A friend of mine felt that something I had to say was a judgment to which I highly disagree... But its eye opening to see how some view another's view...

I'm not a feminist, I just believe that I am no less than another, and that women have fought hard to earn our place amongst men in "Their world" .

As a young girl I would hear the stories my Grandma would tell, and it always amazed me to think that not everyone was an equal... I cannot imagine what it would have been like to live in a time where women were not equal, where a wife had no choice but to be submissive to her husband regardless of their actions. It boggles my mind to think that, this way of life is still true in some parts of the world. We won the rights to say whatever and be whoever we want, even if it may not be to everyone's liking.

I've always said I would have loved growing up in the 1950's with the same rights we have now... That was a time where marriage meant something, where values prevailed over privilege. When a woman was respected as not an object but a human being, even if it wasn't in a corporate setting. Now was it always this way, I'm sure it wasn't, but even when it wasn't, this wasn't something that was promoted as a respectable way of life.

I watch television and I see young girls getting pregnant being promoted, I see sex before marriage promoted as a way to pass time and be popular... That degrading yourself sexually is ok...

Yes I was raised with Morals and Values and yes it does upset me when I see young girls feeding into the idea that it's alright to be treated this way, and young men seeing that it's alright to treat them that way.

I have a friend who, while she loves her boyfriend very much, she refuses to move in with him before they're married... I know its an ancient way of thinking, and I have to say that I feel living with someone at least a little while before marriage is a good idea, just so you truly know what you're getting into... You can live with someone and not have sex .. so living that way isn't a huge deal to me, but I love the fact she believes in her values enough to stand up for them. Where did all of these people go??!

It's not alright to talk about money, but its alright to talk about your sexual acts and partners??

I can't imagine the world the way it's becoming, Yes we're free, but free to do what? Call it a judgment, call it an informed opinion, but yes I believe that values and morals should have a place in this society, and its heart breaking that it isn't that way. To think that I must settle for these things as a part of my life... Am I in the wrong to be offended by my husband objectifying other women... Love and Hip hop says if you love your man, you're willing to accept his indiscretions. Am I wrong for telling my children that it is NOT alright to have sex before marriage, that having a child at 16 isn't the ideal lifestyle... When did the right thing become the wrong...

I will never apologize for the values my Grandmother instilled in me, I will never apologize for my faith... And I will never be less than what I know I am.
I deserve to be loved, and I deserve to feel like that love is genuine. I am more than a body and a face... The makeup doesn't make me although I love it... I'm intelligent, I tend to have a sense of humor, I'm eclectic, cultured... Most importantly I'm loving and I care ... I was once told that the one thing this person loved about me was that I cared so much, but in the same sentence was told sometimes they wished I didn't care so much... That's just me... I'm a passionate person, and yes I wear my heart on my sleeve and again I will never live as if that is a negative trait. Love me or hate me, its your choice, but this is me, and at the end of the day, through the life I've lived and everything I've accomplished I'm proud of myself because I deserve to be... I've made it to where I am because of the values I have... And every accomplishment, every let down, every decision I've made, I became what everyone told me was impossible... I did NOT follow in my "Mother's" footsteps like everyone said I would... I can look back and say ... I'm most proud that My Grandparents have someone to be proud of, and that they approve.... There is nothing in this world that solidifies my decisions more than that.

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