I am a Woman, and I am like every Woman

They say we are all alike. 

They say it as if it is something that I should be ashamed of—an insult hidden within a casual remark. “Do not be like other girls,” they warn me, as if being one of them is something so shameful that it should be avoided. But they do not know the women I know. 

I have been surrounded by women all my life: women who shaped how I see the world; those who taught me that life lessons cannot be found in books or in rooms where they are spoken loudly.

I was raised by a mother who stands beside me. Her strength is quiet but unshakable, like a tree standing still in the midst of a storm. She is there in the moments when the world feels too heavy for me to carry, and her presence reminds me that I am never truly alone. 

My grandmother carries a different kind of strength. Her comfort feels like a warm hug in the middle of a cold night, and when the world seems to be against me, she is there to remind me that storms do not last forever. Her wisdom is gentle, her stories spoken softly, and her advice settles within the depths of the heart.

The Titas stand beside like a string of encouragement—the support you feel in every path you choose, whether the step is steady or uncertain. There are the women who celebrated my success and prayed for my dreams even before they existed. These women guided me with love. Their love alone is proof that strength does not always need applause; that sometimes, strength looks like sacrifice, patience, and simply continuing to move forward when everyone else says “stop.” 

And yet, as I grow older, I hear people utter that I should not be like them. That if I wanted a better future, I should rise above and not be like “other women.”  Say it in a way to make me feel smaller—as if being compared to other women is an insult; as if womanhood is something to escape from.

But they are wrong. Because I have seen what women are capable of.

Women carry power in ways that are often overlooked. We carry stories, dreams, and resilience in our bones. We are  generations of survival, and that hope lives within us.

Because we’re all alike.

Alike in the way that we stand up for what we believe is right, even when our voices shake. Alike in the way we refuse to stay silent, even though it would be easier. We’re alike in our compassion, the way we care deeply for the people around us; the way we continue to love even after the world tries to harden our hearts.

Because a woman’s mind is not something simple; it is a place where thoughts grow, a place where empathy meets wisdom, and a home where courage meets understanding. The mind of a woman embraces the soul—not only our own, but the souls of those around her.

So when they say that I am like other girls—I will not deny it. Nor will I pretend to be different just to feel worthy in their eyes.

Because being a woman is a story of strength and perseverance—a story of those who continue to stand tall especially when the world tries to bend them. Because being a woman is far more powerful than it is often known. It is resilience that survives generation after generation. 

And if I am like every other woman, then I am proud to share the same determination and the fire that refuses to be extinguished. 

I am a woman, and I am like every woman.

Article: Helaena Isabella

Illustration: Glaciane Kelly Lacerna