Yesterday, I tore through my closet for as much pink as I could find, and went to see the Barbie movie.
I expected nostalgia. I expected pink and sparkles. I expected to remember what it felt like to be a kid playing with a doll.
But what I saw was a powerful reminder that young girls need strong women to look up to. They need to know that they can be doctors and presidents and lawyers and all of the things that they envisioned for themselves when they picked up a doll that wore a uniform with both style and power. They also need to know that they can be wives and stay-at-home mothers and that there is no right or wrong way to be a woman. We just are, and that is enough.
There were a few quotes from this movie that really struck a chord with me.
“Because Barbie can be anything, women can be anything.”
I remember walking through the aisles of Toys R Us and seeing Barbies dressed as astronauts and scientists and athletes and dancers. What I don’t remember was thinking, “Wow, that’s pretty farfetched.”
Because I knew in my 7-year-old heart that Barbie could do anything because she was Barbie. When did we stop thinking the same for ourselves?
“We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they have come.”
I am not a mother, but I am a daughter (in case you didn’t catch that from my brand name).
From what I recall, my mother never had dreams of grandeur. She was a powerful career woman before she had kids, and then took a break to make sure that my sister and I had everything we needed. When we were ready, she went back to work with a job that may not have been glamorous but gave her a renewed sense of purpose and joy.
As a kid, we don’t see the daily sacrifices our mothers make for us. We don’t see them as CEOs or doctors or any job title. We see them as Mom.
As an adult, I now see a woman who wasn’t perfect but tried every single day. I see a cheerleader who celebrates my wins and forces me to acknowledge my successes. I see a critic who corrects me when I’m wrong but still gives me the freedom to make mistakes when I need to.
She reminds me how far I’ve come, and gives me a reason to want to go farther.
“We have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.”
Basically, everything America Ferrera said in this movie hit my heart, but also reminded me why I am dedicated to authenticity and being unapologetically who I am. I may do it wrong, but I do it my way.
“Humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever.”
As a woman, I know I only have this one life, so I am determined to spend it contributing to the timeless idea that girls can do anything.