As a young adult, there are many things in which we have to learn and will begin to experience. A lot of those experiences will be different, especially when If comes to gender.
The many things that we will face as women aren't exactly things that you can prepare for in life. It's life, you can never exactly prepare for it. Although, hearing from other women about those often common experiences can give us insight into the future.
For many years (or let's be honest, it's centuries), women have been told to not talk about certain topics that were labeled as private or taboo. These were issues that many women were facing, yet women felt uncomfortable talking to each other. Forget speaking up and talking about it to the whole world.
In recent years, things have managed to change drastically. The MeToo movement has led to women speaking up about being sexually harassed and assaulted. It's certainly not perfect, but it's a start to a better world for women. We live in a world where women's issues being discussed daily on various social media platforms. Its one of the best things that came from the creation of social media. The stories that need to be told can go beyond your best friends or your town, and it gives us all the chance to benefit.
On the platforms, I've learned many things that will be beneficial towards me in the future. I consider them things to bookmark and later reference to when I hit that chapter in my life. There also the things that are beneficial to the present, as I begin my journey in life.
The experiences may not be the same, but the stories provide some comfort that you're not alone in it. The stories often serve as warnings as to what to avoid, what to expect and how to live through certain situations. It's all the information there to help guide you through your own life. I'll call it a miniature guide to potential life experiences.
Recently, Former First Lady Michelle Obama spoke about her challenges to have her daughters, who were conceived through in-vitro fertilization, or IVF. It's the topic of miscarriages, fertility struggles and more that she discusses in her book, “Becoming."
In an interview with Robin Roberts, she said something that stood out to me. "I think it's the worst thing that we do to each other as women, not share the truth about our bodies and how they work and how they don't work."
It's sad that more women don't discuss the things that pertain to our bodies. It's something we all share and most likely will face. It's something we need to understand as we'll dealing with it the majority of our lives.
Of course, there are the things that we will learn from our mothers, aunts, family, and friends that are in our lives. However, there are things that may not experience that you will. These will be things that you will need to learn from other women. These will be the things that you come to learn from the women on your job, online groups, and more.
Even though, it would seem as if hearing about women experiences is only beneficial towards other women, that's far from the truth. Men being able to hear about women experiences is also important as well. Men may not be able to experience the things we do, but hearing about it may make you understand in some way.
We may not all have the same identical experiences, but the stories and lessons are worthwhile. It's an attempt to prepare you in some shape or form, and nothing be something of complete shock or surprise. The things that we learn from each other, as women, can help us in our own journey, especially in the future.
