Chelsea

Chelsea Rice
Age: 22
Occupation: Preschool Teacher

 "What does it mean to be a woman? My first thought was to Google this question. . . and the results were less than disappointing. The first thing I read was “The female being (distinguished from a man). What the hell does it mean for a woman to be distinguished from a man? Am I supposed to constantly defend myself against men? And out of the initial 6 Google responses, I only fit in to 3 of the categories, so does that make me half of a woman? When I look back and think of all the women influences in my life, all I can think is, how the hell did you do it?! How did my mother put four children (who were all girls) ahead of herself? When I come home at the end of each day, I am grateful the only person I had to cater to is myself. While that may sound selfish, it’s true. We limit women when we say she is “that kind of woman.” That kind of woman is categorized as traditional or modern, a feminist or not, a liberal or conservative, a virgin or a whore. . . the list goes on. So to answer your question, finally, being a woman means recognizing the strengths that come with womanhood, heart, body, mind, and soul. We take responsibility for our lives and what we want from this life. We might be afraid, but we go behind that fear to define our womanhood, and we don’t allow anyone else to define it for us.

         A single word that would describe me as an individual is courageous. I am proud of my ability to overcome. No matter what life throws at me, I know I will always have the ability to overcome."