Three Things

[Rebecca Benston]

If you were to teach a course on "How to be a Woman in today's society," what three things would you want to make sure you included in the curriculum? Think about this in terms of the lessons you have learned just by being a woman. Most of what we learn isn't taught in a classroom, so if we had the opportunity, what should we say?

[Rudelle Stewart]

The three things I would teach would be 1. Discerning Me 2. Loving Me 3. Living Me. I learned only at about age 35 that I had no idea who I was. I had lost myself in being what everyone else needed me to be. I had buried my hopes and dreams somewhere in the field of "someday probably never". I had to find out who I was and who I wanted to be. When I took the time to look at every part of me inside and out, I found that I didn't like me very much. After addressing each issue I didn't like, if I could change it I did and if I couldn't I learned to accept for what it was and I did this until I could finally not only like me, but love me. I learned that if I couldn't love myself, I couldn't truly love anyone else. Finally, after I learned who I was and how to love myself for who I was, I made a decision that I would no longer live my life for everyone else. I did and said what I thought would make people accept me. Things that I thought would make others happy, putting my own wants and needs on the back burner that I never got around to. I finally got the fact that I deserved to be happy. To do the things I enjoyed, go where I wanted to go, eat what I wanted to eat, etc. I do compromise but I decided that if a person couldn't accept me for who I was, flaws and all, that I would just keep that person at an arms distance. If it comes down to my happiness or theirs, for the first time in my life, I CHOOSE ME BECAUSE I'M WORTH IT!