by Claudette Gadsden-Hrobak
I am a DOVe, Daughter of the Village. We are all daughters of the village. As daughters we are innocence, gentleness, tenderness and peace. We continually learn who we are while striving to be our authentic selves. We must take our time and learn everything we can about us. Then and only then, will we know what is really important to us. It is never to late to learn more about you or how to take better care of you. Do it for your daughters; the daughter within you, the biological daughter, adopted daughter or any other daughter in your village.
I found a book a few months ago and the title caught my attention, Educating Our Daughters. Lynn White, Jr who at the time was President of Mills College in Oakland California wrote this book in 1949. Imagine that, a man who understood the importance of educating our daughters differently than we educate our sons.
A young mother wrote Mr. White a letter stating, “I have come to realize that I was educated to be a successful man and now must learn by myself how to be a successful woman.” It is time we teach our young women how to be successful in their own way, time and space. Teach them how to be successful daughters and in turn successful women. How many of us have used the phrase, “If I knew then what I know now…” It is time that our daughters and our sisters learn ‘it’ now. The ‘it’ is whatever they want it to be.
Allow our daughters to be daughters. Allow them to grow into their own greatness. I remember reading a passage quite a few years ago about hormonal changes of teenage girls. I was looking for answers on helping my angel, most of the times anyway, be the best she could be. It talked about parents who expect their daughters to be little girls when at home and big girls when they are away from home. Our daughters become confused because we give them different messages at different times. They sometimes forget when they should be the little girls versus the big girls.
Some of us may say that we had to grow up. There was no time to be a little girl. Does this mean that our daughters must repeat the cycle? Most mothers want more for their kids, physically and emotionally, than they had. Imagine how different your life would be if as a young woman you took the time to learn all about you and what was important to you.
Will you commit to building positive self-esteem and inspiring your daughters to reach their full potential? I will!
