Today, I am proud to be a woman. Driving down the road, I see all types of women. I think about my niece and how, at age two, she is enchanted by the world itself and everything in it. She is utterly amazed at the changes taking place around her, unafraid of what lies ahead, unashamed of her thoughts and emotions. Then, driving in the car next to me, I see a grandma, surely she belongs to someone. She has a few wrinkles that time itself has put there. Perhaps even life has done these things to her once young and flawless body. I think about my life, somewhere in the middle but holding onto both ends as if they will disappear if I let go. It's difficult to just stand in this moment.

       When I do stop and enjoy this moment, what I see are beautiful women everywhere. I see some riddled with the trials of life none of us ever want to face. I see their faces with fear and doubt in their eyes, in their walk, in their hearts. But, I also see hope. A hope that only a woman can feel, a hope and sense of belonging that women just have, just know. I am proud to be a woman today. Complete with all the emotions and trials that life has sent me as a woman.

     The things I have been through have brought me a deeper sense of purpose. Perhaps, even a deeper sense of who I am. I think about my grandma, with her leathery skin, loving eyes and helping hands. The woman has been through so much in her short 66 years of life. She has seen more than I will ever see, hopefully. With any luck my niece won't have to endure the amount of emotional upheaval that we have endured just to realize who she is as a person.

      The things I have been through have brought me a deeper sense of purpose. Perhaps, even a deeper sense of who I am. I think about my grandma, with her leathery skin, loving eyes and helping hands. The woman has been through so much in her short 66 years of life. She has seen more than I will ever see, hopefully. With any luck my niece won't have to endure the amount of emotional upheaval that we have endured just to realize who she is as a person.

     It's not the "I am woman, hear me ROAR," sense of beauty. It is more like, regardless of the mother you had, when you picture your mother's face with that look in her eyes and you know you are loved. That look and the way it makes you feel, real or imagined. It's that kind of beauty from within, that beauty that only a woman has. Women who have compassion that seems to escape most men. That special touch of a woman that lets you know she understands. The look on your friend's face, the tone in their voice and you just know that you are loved and cared for beyond your wildest dreams. Only women can give you that feeling, whether we are mothers or not, we all have that ability. Men, even the ones in touch with their "feminine side," while they come close, still can't compare to the compassion of a woman.

      When you consider what women have been through during the past 100 years or so. How far we've come, still going forward to whatever it is we are searching for. That's the strength that burns inside me. That's the strength of thousands of women, finding their place in the world, whether at home with their children or running a Fortune 500 company. Being able to find our own souls in the world, despite the opposition. Thousands of women have made it long before me and millions more will follow behind. I just hope that I don't disappoint the unspoken sisterhood of women. I hope that all women will one day feel loved, even if it feels like they are all alone in the world. Every woman in the world is loved. I love them. They are all beautiful. Their footsteps are leading us into the future; I want all women to feel that power. Not in a roaring sense but in a quiet, understood, 'I know that I am loved and "everything will be all right,"' kind of sense.

      Heart warming, soul singing, giving yourself a big hug and everyone around you a warm smile and maybe one of those great hugs, too. Maybe that's where I'm headed, to write about the love of women. Maybe one day, it won't seem so strange for us to love openly and care for each other, maybe it will even become expected. Once a woman child is born, she knows she is loved from now till eternity by the women of the world, her one true inalienable right as a woman. I want to spread love and compassion to all the women in the world. Maybe I will.