Day 5: Damn straight you’re smart and you have an opinion.

In today’s world, women have to work harder than men and yet earn just 78 cents for every dollar a man earns. All the while women are now 33% more likely to graduate from college.

Women have fought hard to be equal to men. And guys, for the record I am not this huge feminist who hates men and thinks woman power is all that its about. On the contrary, I quite enjoy men and their power to lift things for me and entertain me while I watch them play football and basketball. And yes, I’m kidding. I know men are more than that. I’m just saying I’m not an extreme feminist activist.

Okay, getting back to the blog. Even with our equal rights women clearly have a disadvantage. However, women are pretty ingenious and we’ve learned to work smarter not harder, be assertive when needed, and we aren’t shy about sharing our opinions and expertise with who ever will listen. I believe women were born to have a mouth on them and to have an opinion to share.

Women are smart. I’m not saying men aren’t. But, women have to be smart in order to get where they want because it can be so much harder for women to get where they want. Women who want to be strong should know some things about herself though. It is great to have an education but there is more to being smart then that. A strong woman needs to understand what her strengths and flaws are and be able to outwit her haters.

Example: I work in a company where primarily the store management is heavily men. Office Managers are primarily women. For the company I am with, the first store I started I was a newbie, not knowing what was up, down, left or right. The management team saw me as their inferior counterpart because I was just an office manager. It took my blood, sweat, and tears to be able to show them I am an equal counterpart not only knowing my responsibilities but being able to complete some of their own as well. I worked hard. I understood my areas of opportunities and learned from it. From there I excelled and I am known in the company for my dedication and hard work. I took the haters and proved them wrong. I didn’t let their opinion of me stop me from being great at what I did. Never allow someone to dictate your worth.

Being opinionated is part of being a woman. It isn’t a bad thing. I am quite opinionated. Just be chill when you are. You can be opinionated and still rub people the wrong way. Which also isn’t a bad thing. Just be humane and compassionate about it. Don’t make people feel like they are inept, stupid or lack knowledge of a subject. A strong woman may be smart and opinionated but they are also compassionate and kind. Don’t forget that.

Be the force to be reckoned with. The queen in the deck that they want in their hand. The queen is agile and smart. Loving and opinionated. But still the queen.