The art of being a woman

As I lie in bed after a whirlwind weekend at a conference in Quebec, I can’t help but think – damn my legs hurt. Why on earth did I wear high heels for 5 days in a row. I have never worn heels so much in my life! What was I thinking?! I can tell you what I was thinking – I was thinking that I needed to be professional and powerful.

Why do women think that high heels make us more powerful? Why do I have to put on pretty clothes and makeup to feel important? It’s totally illogical. I mean – heels slow you down! I could move faster and more efficiently without them. And a truly mature woman would not give a crap that her natural skin has flaws, she would embrace that. But here we stand, woman all over the world, desperately seeking approval by play acting. By putting on the role of what we think the world wants, what we think men want, what we think we have to do to get where we deserve to be.

Sometimes I wonder if we are fighting a real battle or an imagined one. Are we still fighting for our right to be seen as equal? Or are we fighting the shadow of the-way-things-used-to-be so hard that we don’t notice things have already changed. Or, most terrifying of all, are women just so irreversibly screwed up that we can’t stop analyzing everything?! The only saving grace there is that men are just as bizarre. I had a long conversation with a good friend yesterday about how guys seem terrified that someone might not want to be their friend anymore…where on earth did they develop that insecurity? I don’t understand them, and they don’t understand me….and at least I’ve come to accept that.

So back to women, and how we try to feel powerful and important. Well – I went to that conference, and I wore my heels. I presented research. I schmoozed with reps at the booths. I had dinner with several presidents of the college. I accepted an award and did not trip on stage! And then…I committed the ultimate sin of gluttony and shopped so much that I had to buy a new suitcase.

It’s wonderful being crazy :)

Lots of love
Pamela

Currently reading: Current surgical diagnosis and treatment
Currently listening to: Big Band Swing