In every story, there is always a hero that saves the day and the villain who's sole mission is to ruin life as we know it. They come together and battle each other until the hero emerges as the victor and the villain is banished until the next battle.
This is what it is like to be a woman. We have accomplished so much, made strides towards greatness and made a name for ourselves in so many fields. Yet, whenever we fight for the equality that should have been given to us in 1776, we are criticized for wanting more. We are accused of being ungrateful, given many examples about how men and women have been treated the same for hundreds of years and constantly reminded how we are not allowed to stand up for ourselves.
With the Women's World Cup being at the forefront of everyone's mind, seeing these women reclaim their title and prove their greatness makes me proud to be a woman. Every single player put their heart and soul into those matches, showing how much work it takes to be the best in the world. However, that still is not enough for some people. USA makes history and in the midst of the celebration, people find a way to tear them down: the US is wrong for scoring 13 goals against a team, Megan Rapinoe is an arrogant player for her celebrations and attitude in regards to politics, Alex Morgan is trashy and gives a bad name to America by 'smoking a blunt'/'sipping tea' during the FIFA semi-finals. Every time I see another person criticizing or complaining, the feeling of less than everyone else comes back. As women, we have come so far; we can vote and work and have a voice in politics, but the sad thing is that these achievements should have been ones we needed to fight for- It should have been given to us from the start. This team has overcome so many obstacles and proven themselves again and again, but in the minds of many, they don't deserve the same pay as the men. If the women who represent the US on an international scale are not able to be paid fairly, what does that say for every other woman out there? Will I need to fight for fair treatment? Will I be an outcast because I want to be paid the same as my male counterparts? All of these questions run through my mind, constantly making me worry for my future.
Then I see the Women's National team. Twenty-three incredible, awe-inspiring women have taken the field, not only to defend their title , but to fight for every man and women out there who deserve equality. I see how one goal can make people come together and one celebration can make history. These are the women I look up to. Hearing the 'equal pay' chant following their win reminded me how many allies I have. We will always have people who want us to fail, reminding us that life is not that bad and we need to understand our place in the world. But that will not stop me from being the bad ass woman I am. I will be the hero, fighting for everything I deserve and I will be the villain, hated buy those who cannot accept that women are forces not to be messed with. I am proud to be a woman in 2019 because I am here to prove to everyone that I am great, I am incredible and awe-inspiring and I will change the world. I will be apart of the women who make history again, just as we did time and time again.
