The Complexity of Transforming Into Womanhood

My mum, the rock of my soul, taught me a lot of things, but some of them did not seem to be on her curriculum. One of them is the difficulty of transitioning into a woman and figuring out how to act as a female in society. This direction in life was strewn, and I had to sort out much of it on my own. There was no easy way out, and the only way out was to go to every single moment, and I can confidently say that every moment was worthwhile. Being a young girl, I was never taught that danger lurks in every corner for a woman and this called for caution. Being the sole driver of my destiny, not even my focus for life could help me not notice the dynamics that life had to offer me. Ignorance, courage, and luck helped me pass the test and within no time all was gone and new challenges kept coming.

My successful pilgrimage into womanhood is now marked by composure and humility though I still question the presence of my beloved mother especially in those trying times I had gone through. Though I can put blame on my mother, I wish she had told earlier of the uncertain journey that I was to pass through into my transformation into a woman. Growing up was easy as each day came and passed and I did not experience any challenges since I was in the safe hands of my mother who ensured I was fed, bathed, clothed and always happy. Submitting to a man, showing care with respect to other people were some of the things that I heard my mother mentioned that would help me be a great and respected woman in the society. In a different aspect, I thank her for I note she believes in my inner strengths and always encourages me to be the best. One fact is for sure, she could never have told me about those things since she was clueless and was doing her part at that moment.

My mother was a simple woman and her simplicity was to the extent that I believe every young woman in this modern world would admire. The truth about my predicament still reminds me of the path that I had passed and how I was able to overcome them. Being a young woman, I experienced all kinds of pressures and I learned that I had to make decisions that would impact my life positively or negatively. I had to dress a certain way and do things in a certain manner so that I could be able to blend in the society. Fashion and current trends made me experience the first pressure of growing up which made me appreciate things and adapt to every situation. I remember at one of the moment, we had gone to window-shop with some of my girlfriends. They each had money to buy some of the trendy and fashionable things while I was just there staring as I could not afford to buy anything and that really affected me. Fashion in the world is determined by pop stars and young girl follows blindly even though some are not appropriate but the pressure to fit in is so high that one finds it hard to resist. Also, to avoid mockery in school, my hairstyle had to be on point and trendy which made me learn about styling my hair. I experienced mockery when I was in junior grade as some of the girls mocked me for the hairstyle and clothes that I wore and that was one of the most devastating points of my life.

Life at that moment was like learning how to ride a bicycle with nobody to assist you. The first instance in my transformation into womanhood rang bells when I experienced my first monthly menses. Though I had been taught in school, experiencing menses for the first time was very painful and I lacked someone to talk to and tell her how I was feeling. Being in adolescence, I was also becoming shy as I started growing breasts and my body transformed which made me feel uncomfortable and I was pickier in what I chose to wear. Then came things like applying makeup which was foreign to me due to my background but thanks we are in the digital age where I can get the information over the internet.

My simple mother never bothered in things such as makeup as for her, mascara was all she needed to go on any occasion. For me though, the pressure was so high that I had to apply makeup to be on par with my friends through the lack of worldly experience really affected me. Keeping up with the new trends in terms of music and celebrity news made me to the shade of the simplicity that I had and be like the rest of the girls. I sometimes wished I had a big sister who would help me out and help know what I was to expect in life.

I did not know that the greatest challenge of them all was yet to come and even the internet would not offer me help. I would feel awkward being in the presence of boys and the attraction to either of them made the situation even worse. I was naïve what I would do and my heart would race when I interacted with any boy especially in class as my self-esteem had not yet grown. Being in a proximity to a boy made me uncomfortable and I would always shy away. The first heartbreak made me cry, change my perception and learn why it is called love and that became another trying time that I never expected to experience. Being naïve about relationships made me learn an important lesson through the hard way. That moment shaped me into a confident lady and they will always linger in my brain. Are these the challenges that every girl should experience as they grow up? For this sole reason, every woman in the world needs to be celebrated. Oh, how I would do anything to relive those awesome and trying moments. Despite all these challenges, one important lesson I have learned through my growth into a woman is that when life offers me lemons, I should make lemonade.