Chicas, we are so happy and grateful to celebrate International Women’s Day with you all! Globally, International Women’s Day has been celebrated for over a century since it began in 1911! Today is a day that celebrates our achievement and recognizes that we still have work to do before we reach equality. Once you read about the women we are celebrating today, I’m sure you will agree that as women, we can get there.
I would like to start with a very special story of a woman who I would not be here without, and who countless other families would not as well. In 1915, my great, great grandmother (my great grandmother Nene’s mom) watched as her father, husband, brothers and sons were killed during the Armenian Genocide. She took her little girl, Nene, and fled. Before doing so, however, she recognized her own privilege, which was that she was rather wealthy for the village that she lived in, and sewed all over her gold into her skirt. Along the journey from country to country, trying to find refuge for her and her daughter, she used the gold to pay for food in order to survive. However she did not eat to the point of comfort. Instead, she gave food to dozens of other families to ensure their survival also. We celebrate her selflessness and strength today.
Of course I have my life to be thankful for due to this story, but something else sticks out to me about it as well. It’s the power of women: the graciousness, generosity, and love that we exude. In many cases, including this one, the love that we give results in life! My great, great grandmother ensured that many families were able to survive and continue, and who knows what those families have accomplished in these next few generations! How many lives they could have saved, created, or benefitted. I know that my grandmother, whose great grandmother is the queen in this story, became a phenomenal OBGYN, allowing so many women who were deemed infertile to have the experience of giving birth, and entering many new babies into this world.
As women, we not only give birth but we give life with our love. I think it is really beautiful to live life realizing this and practicing graciousness, gratitude, generosity, and forgiveness. As we know, the world would be nowhere without these things and without WOMEN!
With that story to start us off, here are some more inspiring women to celebrate today and always.
Amanda Gorman (USA) - During this years’ Presidential Inauguration, one girl stole the show. Amanda Gorman (22) captured her audience as she recited her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” to the world. Gorman stands as the youngest inaugural poet since the tradition started with John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961. To kick off our “Women to Celebrate” program for Women’s History Month, Chica Beauty celebrates the incredible Amanda Gorman with some of our favorite inspiring facts about her.
- Like President Biden, whose inauguration she recited her poem at, Gorman has a speech impediment. She began writing poetry at a young age and this helped her to find her voice.
- In 2017, she was named the United States’ first ever National Youth Poet Laureate. This means that she won a national competition recognizing young talent and now performs for special events at the Library of Congress.
- She has written two books, both coming out in 2021. One is a children’s book called Change Sings, and the other is a book of her poems called The Hill We Climb.
- She wants to one day be the President of the United States! We are so inspired by a young woman and advocate with so much talent, passion, and confidence and with wonderfully big dreams!
Our favorite quote from her inaugural poem The Hill We Climb is:
“For there is always light,
If only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Greta Thunberg (Sweden) - This 16 year old was cyber bullied by the President of the United States and she still continues to use her voice and inspire millions to join the Climate Movement. Greta Thunberg sees no threat greater to society than Climate Change. Instead of cowering from it or hoping somebody will solve it for her, she has faced the issue head on. Today, she is a leader in the Climate Movement and Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019. She inspired young people as well as those on the Autism spectrum, as she is, to use their voice. Thunberg began her activism by skipping school each Friday to demonstrate in front of the Swedish parliament and work to persuade her government to meet their goals for carbon emissions. By the age of 16, she had addressed two United Nations summits, her words sweeping the globe and inspiring generations of people to become invested in the movement against Climate Change. Her speeches are filled with passion, determination, frustration, and confidence. After she beat out former President Trump for the 2019 Time’s Person of the Year, he sent out a flurry of tweets deeming that she has “anger management” and needs to “go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend,” finishing off with “Chill, Greta!” Thunberg did not let this phase her; she did not quiet down, but only used this to make her message stronger. We are inspired by her resilience, strength, and passion!
Sylvia Rivera (Puerto Rican; USA) - Sylvia Rivera was a Puerto Rican transgender activist who, alongside her friend Marsha P. Johnson, fought tirelessly for LGBTQ+ rights. She is sometimes credited as the person who put the “T” in LGBT. She co-founded both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance, as well as helped to found STAR, a group dedicated to helping homeless trans youth. We celebrate her strength against intersectional discrimination and adversity, as well as her determination to help her community!
Angel Merkel (Germany) - in 2005, Merkel became the first female chancellor of Germany. Since that time, we have seen the amazing benefits that come with having a woman in charge:
- She is a diplomat: easily able to have good relations with politicians on both sides of the spectrum (ex. George W. Bush and Barack Obama)
- She approaches situations scientifically, with little emotional sway, making her have a very analytic approach that results, more often, in solutions rather than blowouts
- She inspired women globally by being named Forbes’ “Most Powerful Woman In the World,” which is considered to be the highest ranking ever achieved by a woman, Time Magazine’s “Chancellor of the Free World,” and after twice being ranked second after Vladmir Putin, Forbes’ “The World’s Most Powerful Person.”
We love seeing the world reap the benefits of having a woman as leader! We hope that we will see more and more of this as time goes on. Thank you Angela Merkel!
While there are infinite more women around the globe that we celebrate today, this wraps up today’s post. Thank you if you have made it this far!
Don’t forget to celebrate YOU today! We certainly are!
As always, please email nicole@chicabeauty.com for any questions, comments, or submissions to this blog!
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