What it Takes to be a 'Woman"

It begins long before she understands the meaning of strength.
From childhood, she is taught to be quiet, to be kind, to be careful.
Taught to smile even when confusion sits in her throat
and questions are answered with silence.

She learns early that her voice must be softened,
that her dreams should be reasonable,
that her pain should be graceful.

As she grows, the world asks more of her.
Be strong, but not loud.
Be independent, but not intimidating.
Be ambitious, but remember your place.
Be soft, nurturing, forgiving, endlessly forgiving.

She becomes the one who holds everything together
while quietly falling apart.
She loves deeply, even when it costs her pieces of herself.
She carries families, relationships, responsibilities, and emotions
that no one ever checks if she can bear.

She learns to numb her feelings.
She numbs.
She learns to feel nothing.
To say “I’m fine” when she isn’t.
To show up even when her soul is tired.
To be okay, or at least look like it, because she must.

She learns to survive disappointment, loss, betrayal, and loneliness with dignity.
She learns to rebuild herself again and again
without anyone noticing the scars.

And yet…
She still loves.
She still hopes.
She still gives.
She still rises.

She gives, because she was taught that love means giving.
She stays, because she was taught that patience is virtue.
She forgives, because she was taught that endurance is strength.

She is treated like a toy,
picked up when needed,
expected to stay intact no matter how roughly she is handled.

Her feelings are minimized.
Ignored.
Silenced.
And slowly, her needs disappears.

She becomes the place people unload their desires, frustrations, and emptiness,
while no one asks what it costs her to carry them.
Her pain is inconvenient.
Her boundaries are negotiable.

Not perfection.
Not weakness.
But a quiet, relentless strength
that no one talks about,
That is what It Takes to be a Woman.