For International Women’s Day I wanted to dedicate an entire week of empowering posts about being a woman, but what does it actually mean to be a ‘woman’? Curious about how others may answer this question I teamed up with a few bloggers. We are also collaborating on some blog posts that we’ll be sharing throughout the week, so stay tuned!

Now when I initially asked myself the question above three words came to mind-strong, beautiful and diverse. Growing up, I was quite lucky to have a mother who is incredibly strong-willed and ambitious. She told us many stories about her life and the sacrifices that she endured in order to get higher education and a career. Independence and courage to accomplish the goals that she set out for herself was always at the forefront. These were the initial qualities I associated with being a ‘woman’.

Though these qualities are a great foundation, I never really felt like it completed the picture. Beauty and appreciating my physical attributes was something I really had to work on (still working on it). Meanwhile, having fun with clothes and developing my personal style gradually became important to me as I grew older. Then more recently, experimenting with makeup. That being said, being beautiful to me isn’t just about the kinds of clothes and shoes I wear or makeup looks that can help enhance my features, being beautiful as woman to me is about staying true to myself and embracing physical or non-physical flaws I may have. Being beautiful as a woman to me comes from inside and out.

And of course, because we come from different cultures, have different attributes and have gone through different experiences. Being a woman is as diverse as all of the women around the world. Our diversity contributes to who we are today and who we will become later on. Granted, society has provided a definition of a ‘woman’ referring to certain physical ideals, femininity, and roles women “should play.” It’s hard to ignore this reality but it doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about addressing it. This is what #BeingAWoman inspiration project is all about. I encourage you to take a photo with the hashtag #BeingAWoman and share with us YOUR answer.

Maybe it’s about time WE define what it means to be a woman, don’t you think?

Always,

–K

P.S. I will be compiling a photo journal with the responses using the #BeingAWoman throughout the week, then share it with everyone at the end of the end of the week! 🙂 Also, I will be sharing my collaborators posts on my Facebook page feel free to head over there to take a look! 🙂 Thank you all for your support! ❤