As Women’s History Month concludes, I wanted to showcase the experiences that my fellow ladies have endured through womanhood. Here is what “Being a woman” means to us.

“Being a woman is arriving late to class because I changed my outfit nearly 20 times.”

“Being a woman is coming home from college and giggling and catching up with a girlfriend you haven’t seen in a while, so much that you realize you’ve completely forgotten to look over the menu by the time the waiter comes to take your order.”

“Being a woman is stressing about the outfit you are going to wear to a concert that is in four months rather than the exam that begins in six hours.”

“Being a woman is being late to an event because you accidentally spent 20 minutes trying to untangle two necklaces.”

“Being a woman is watching my cheesy little chick-flicks when I’ve had a bad day.”

“Being a woman is trying to figure out your new menstrual cup for the first time in the third bathroom stall in Rowland because your period surprised you. Except this cup is longer and skinnier than the other one, and now you aren’t sure if it is inserted correctly because it is too long. So, you decide you are going to basically free-bleed around the cup in media ethics and professionalism with Dr. Drager, and this is your life now.”

“Being a woman is finding the perfect shade of lipstick at 16 and still wearing it at 21.”

“Being a woman is bending over to reach for a pencil in your backpack to fill out the attendance sheet during class, but somehow one of your gold hoop earrings falls off and clatters onto the floor as it comically rolls across the classroom. You are humiliated as the entire class was dead silent during this time, but you feel better once a girl in the front row, whom you have never met before, goes out of her way to return your earring to you.”

“Being a woman is growing up and seeing more of my mother in me than I had before.”

“Being a woman is commiserating with your physician as you freak out because although you are a year away from turning 21, you are terrified of getting your first pap smear. (You also semi-giggle to yourself as you wonder who decided to name it a “pap smear” because it sounds much more casual of an ordeal than it is.)”

“Being a woman is never quite being able to remember which direction the rings need to go in order to tighten your bra straps.”

“Being a woman is feeling an inexplicable urge to look out for one another, no matter if it’s your best friend or a girl you’ve never met before. The female experience presents us with such strife that we somehow feel this innate need to protect one another whenever we can.”

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