“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise.”
When Dr. Maya Angelou was writing the poem, "Still I Rise," she was thinking about the history and future of African American people. But, I can't help but think that she was also thinking about the undervalued and overlooked qualities of a woman. It is a shame to say that even in the year of 2016, women are still treated as second-class citizens. In this great land that we call the United States of America, where we claim that all men are created equal, this can't be further from the truth. Women can do anything just as good, if not, better, than men can. They are not equally paid for the same work as their counterparts, they are thought of more than housewives, and because of the “lack” of masculinity in a woman, it is thought that women cannot work the same job as a man, just because they are a woman.
The systematic oppression of women has gone on long enough, and it's time to stop underestimating the power of a woman. Woman are powerful, beautiful, mysterious, brilliant, and nurturing. Over the course of history, we have seen that the power of a woman knows no bounds. We see women like Catherine the Great, who was the Empress of Russia, whose reign is unparalleled. Harriet Tubman, a slave woman, who led hundreds of men, women, and children to freedom in the north, through the Underground Railroad. Susan B. Anthony, said enough was enough, and started the women's suffrage movement. Since her death in 1906, there has been improvement for equality for women, but there is still a long way to go. Even now, as we underestimate the power of an American woman, I'm almost certain that on January 20, 2017, a woman by the name of Hillary Clinton will take her oath of office and assume the role as the first female President of these United States.
Make no mistake about it, the power of a woman is not to be underestimated. A woman is so powerful, she can make a man stop praying for someone else, get up from his place of authority, give up from what rightfully belongs to him, and come after his woman. And I'm sure you're asking, who is this woman? Who is this woman, that can bring down the king of kings, and the Lord of Lords? Who is this woman who can make the wonderful Son of God get up from his daily assignment, come to earth, and to come back down to earth. There is a woman, that makes Jesus moves, and this woman is called his church. The woman is a church, that is prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And when the bride gets ready, that bridegroom (Christ) will come.
