Women I love - Part III

This post is part of my Women I Love series. Read more about it here. 

Beyonce

Successful women deserve celebration. I'm not talking about success in it's traditional, narrow definition. I'm talking about women that determine what they want out of life and put in the work to make that happen. This seems like the theme of my little Women I Love series. 

I often struggle with my box as a woman. Though I identify with many of the cultural stereotypes and expectations of my gender,my blood boils when I feel constrained by what I should be "focusing on" at this point in my life. I hate the questions about babies and boyfriends and mortgages. I feel frustrated that I don't move forward at work simply because of my female status. I want to hate fashion and baking because I think that I should spend more of my energy on things that matter, whatever that means. 

Women like Beyonce prove that I need not fret too much about how everything is going to come together. She seems to have spent her time and energy on whatever she most wanted in that moment. She gave her everything to Destiny's Child, her solo career, her marriage, taking over her management and, these days, motherhood. 

I know there are trade-offs to it all. I acknowledge that it's always going to be hard to find balance as a women in this culture, no matter what stage I find myself in. 

What I'm taking away from this little writing series on Women I love is that I find myself so afraid of having to make those difficult choices that I avoid making a choice at all. 

I'm scared to be funky and fearless and relentless in the pursuit of my dreams because I'm afraid to fail. I'm also afraid that it's not the right thing for me. That, somehow, I'll find myself on the path I've always wanted and then determine that I didn't really want that at all. I'll be looking around for the stable, boring desk job again and complaining about the frustrations of the life I've carved for myself. 

Here's the thing: I'm done with the worries. They just bring me down. 

I'm going to continue to go for my writing career and put my everything into building this blog. I see what I want for myself very clearly and I'm going to go for it. A la Nicki Minaj, I know what I want, so GET OUT THE WAY. 

Women I love - Part II

This post is part of my Women I Love series. Read more about it here. 

Rihanna

I'm pretty sure most women of the world won't agree with me right now when I say I just love Ri-Ri.

I totally get it.

I'm as mad as you are about her recent collaborations with Chris Brown.As a woman that swam through the murky waters of domestic violence and is now, finally, drying in the sun, I hate to see her diving back in.

But, that can't stop me from loving her. Even though this probably makes me sound like a celebrity-obsessed loser, I can't help myself from saying that Rihanna is everything I wish I could be.

Which is:

• Fearless
• Unconcerned with what people think of her
• Relentless in pursuing her dreams
• A tad tacky
• Funky
• Real

So, I'm pretty sure Rihanna will be on my Women I love list for a bit. Please don't let it come between us. 

Women I love - Part I

I have no interest in pretending to be worldly and cultured and high-minded.

I'm pretty messy. I oversleep most mornings. I procrastinate. I rarely cook. I love popular music. More specifically, I'm apologetically obsessed with rap and hip-hop and R&B.

It's no surprise, then, that the my current girl crushes happen to be musical powerhouses. Here's the first.

Note: I intended this to be a single post, but I had too much to say. It has now become a series. Why? Because this is my blog and I DO WHAT I WANT. 

Nicki Minaj

Why do I love Nicki? Let me count the ways:

1. She's a BOSS and she owns it - She's a professional, hardworking lady that doesn't quibble with sharing her opinions about anything. She goes after what she wants with gusto and doesn't stop for anyone. Get on the train or GET OUT THE WAY. 
2. She has a signature sound and look that is, uh, unconventional to say the least - She lets her freak flag fly and she stills sells records. My kinda girl.
3. She pauses to say thanks - I wouldn't call myself a #barbie, but I do find her twitter exchanges with her fans hilarious. You can have your opinions as to whether or not this is just clever marketing or a true connection with her supporters. I, obviously, think she really cares about reppin' and empowerin' the average girl. 
4. She doesn't need a man - I sorta love that she isn't constantly "rumored to be with so-and-so" all the time. She's working hard and not attaching herself to a man for additional publicity. I like that all of her success is attributed to her hard work. 
5. She's part of Young Money - Okay, I should also disclose that I'm a die-hard Weezy fan. I love that he signed and promoted Nicki throughout her entire rise to the top. Out of all the rappers out there signing new talent, I feel like Weezy's done the most for his artists. 

Did I miss anything?