Wait…. the new year? Can it really be? I didn’t even get started on my new year resolution from two years ago! Well, I guess it’s time to take that resolution and carry it into 2016 (hey, maybe now it’ll actually happen.)
It’s funny, because in the Hebrew calender we celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, three months ago and it really didn’t seem like I was turning into a new chapter– spiritually and with G-d, maybe, but now it feels real. Those three months must have been what I needed to truly allow something to start anew.
—
PHENOMENAL WOMAN
BY MAYA ANGELOU
“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.” –
Maya Angelou, “Phenomenal Woman” from And Still I Rise. Copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou
—
Something about this quote struck me as I was contemplating this year, I don’t know if it’s what she’s trying to say or the way she said be it that resonated with me…
When I left high school, life continued and everyone slowly moved on, but I had no idea who I was or what I wanted. Up until that point everything had seemed so clear, but then the world was opened up to me and no longer was there clarity. What did I do to find it? Well, I packed my bags and moved to New York. Little did I know that it would end up bringing me every ounce of myself that I’d lost. Little did I know, this gutsy move away from everything I’d ever known would challenge me to think past what I thought I knew.
New York molded me into my own phenomenal woman. It took a small town girl and showed her that with good friends, good food, learning, and lots of struggles that the triumph of gaining that stride is all worth it in the end.
2015 was an influential year; it proved to me that the sappy quotes we read have validity. That no matter what people think, you should laugh hard. Sing loud, and pull your car over in a rain storm with the music turned up and you should dance in it with your friends (true story). Be who you want to be without an apology.
My new years commitment to myself is to nurture my newfound phenomenal woman and to have as little #FOMO as possible (because we all know it happens ). Each day is a blessing that needs to be enjoyed!
Life is meant to be lived, so dear readers live and let live! Happy New Year, may you all find what you’re looking for and may your inner phenomenal woman (or man) come shining through.
“When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman,
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.”
See you in 2016
Xoxo
F&F
