A Little Bit Brave

When, on popular TV, they show an abortion, saying "here, try this out, it'll make your life better." When they say to us that we can be as promiscuous as can be because that will give us freedom When, in every clothing store, the skirts get higher and the shirts get lower. When, with magazines and blockbuster movies, they tell me what I'm worth. When they say it doesn't matter what I wear, because I'm not the one responsible for wandering eyes. When they tell me dressing modestly means I'm shaming someone else. When, with catchy slogans and campaign promises, they fight against the 'war on women.' When those who flaunt their bodies and shout their abortions are lauded across social media... I am not a feminist. There's no escaping the propaganda that speaks to women, telling them to defy the limits that have been put on us. Wear whatever you want, demand equal pay, equal rights, equal jobs, have sex whenever you want with who...

The room wasn't clean enough. The makeup wasn't blended enough. The skirt wasn't big enough. The speech wasn't persuasive enough. The hair wasn't straight enough, then it wasn't curly enough. The waist wasn't small enough. The voice wasn't clear enough. The words weren't pretty enough. I wasn't perfect enough. *** If you've ever felt like you aren't good enough, these words are for you. Because you're right. You aren't good enough. You aren't good enough because the standards are impossible, and you aren't perfect. That's the bad news. The good news? You don't have to be. You don't have to have perfect. No matter what you've heard, no matter what you've told yourself. You can't be perfect, and you don't have to be. I'm tired of people wishing they had that one thing. If they had that hair, or those clothes, or that grade, that talent, that popularity, they'd be enough. I...