Independent women

Why is it so many women believe that to be independent, they must also be bitches?

I want us to be the new generation of independent.

Where are the women who can work 40, 50, 60 hours a week to pay the bills, to make ends meet, to get ahead ... but still be a good friend with a listening, sympathetic ear and helpful, mature advice?

Where are the women who can maintain a positive attitude, even when things don't work out as planned? Where are the women who can merge from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C as circumstances change? Where are the women who can keep moving forward when tough times hit, instead of wallowing in self-pity and the woe-is-me's?

Where are the women who support themselves, not only financially, but emotionally? Where are the women who exude the irresistible charm of someone who doesn't need anyone, but who everyone wants to be around? Where are the women who know who they are as individuals and stand their ground, no matter what? Where are the women who believe in themselves and work hard to accomplish what they know they can accomplish with their lives?

Where are the women who do good to their friends and neighbors and communities because it's the right thing to do, not because it's a conscience-salve that allows them to go about the rest of their lives in whatever selfish way they please? Where are the women who keep their class and elegance when everyone around them is immature and tasteless? Where are the women who aren't afraid to show a little personality?

Where are the women who know how to treat a man, the women who know how to let a man treat them like a lady? Where are the women who understand femininity is an essential part of being an independent woman? Where are the women who don't feel like they have to act like a man to be independent in this world? Where are the women who understand that their femininity is an asset to their independence, not a liability?

Where are the women who can think for themselves, instead of letting themselves be spoonfed by a media-laden culture? Where are the women who value their brains as much as their beauty? Where are the women who refuse to believe in the lies that romantic comedies and fashion magazines portray? Where are the women who know that beauty comes from within? Where are the women who can express their own personality with their fashion choices, rather than displaying the off-the-rack or off-the-runway mindless fashion that tells the world nothing about who they actually are as a person?

Where are the women who have passions for something worth while, something that will leave a legacy? Where are the women who care about the world around them and work to create a better one? Where are the women who aren't afraid to go against the grain and become what they want to be rather than what their environment expects them to be?

Where are the women who choose to be truthful and refuse to be manipulative? Where are the women who embrace the challenges of relationships? Where are the women who accept others for who they are and encourage them to be better people? Where are the women who know that strength is quiet and calm, a courage that doesn't give up but continues to press on through the diffculties, day in and day out?

Where are the women who love unconditionally? Where are the women who know how to balance their toughness with their empathy? Where are the women who know how to balance every aspect of their lives and keep their harmony and center?

Where are the women who treat others with respect and earn the respect of everyone around them? Where are the women who take their work seriously and themselves lightly? Where are the women with a sense of humor, an ability to laugh at the little ironies in life instead of getting irritated with them? Where are the women who love life to the fullest and live each day the best way they can? Where are the women who lead their lives as role models, as friends, as mothers, as sisters, as wives, as lovers, as executives or hourly wage earners, as artists or scientists, as dreamers, as hopeless romantics, as students, as believers, as women?

Where are the women who make me proud to be a woman?