I Have a Dream, Too!

January 19 honors the legendary Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the undisputed leaders of the civil rights movement. His ambitious dream, described in his famous speech, continues to inspire young and old alike. I have a dream, too. It involves my desires for the women of the future.

I have a dream that the media will one day embrace and feature women of all body types. Inevitably, modern magazines and newspapers feature tall, dangerously thin cover girls wearing barely-there outfits. Adolescent girls tend to interpret these images not as examples of one type of beauty, but as evidence that females must be thin to be beautiful. This dangerous assumption can result in eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Impressionable young girls are often sucked into this unrealistic ideal, even in the face of many examples to the contrary. There are many women who, despite their very public battles with weight loss, were glamorous even BEFORE they tried to lose weight. A prime example is Queen Latifah. She is undoubtedly one of God's finest creations, yet she doesn't fit the modern ideal that a woman must be thin and small-boned to be beautiful. Oprah Winfrey is another example. She's glamorous to a fault and carries herself with grace and dignity, whether she's heavy or thin.

I dream that someday, women will be featured in the media not only because of their PHYSICAL beauty, but because of their intelligence and outspoken nature. One of the women that I admire most in the world is Judge Judith Sheindlin, also known as "Judge Judy". She has a crystal clear sense of right and wrong, and she's NEVER afraid to speak her mind. She encourages the development of accountability, a trait that seems to be rare in modern society.

I envision a world of equal pay for equal work. Currently, the rate of pay for women is usually lower that the rate of pay for men who do the same job. This inequality should not be tolerated. Women deserve to be compensated financially at exactly the same rate as that of a man if they expend the same amount of effort.

I have a dream that stay-at-home moms will be treated with the same high esteem as women who work outside the home. Both career choices are important. Women in the workforce contribute financially to their families, lightening the monetary load. Stay-at-home moms contribute to the emotional well-being and security of their little ones, yet are often shunned for not having a "real" job. Their work is different from the labor accomplished by women in the workforce. They are mothers all day long, constantly meeting the everchanging needs of their children. They don't get coffee breaks, and their work doesn't end after an eight-hour shift. Exhaustion is an ever-present companion, especially when babies are small, so in their fatigued state they may lose sight of the fact that they are molding the moral fabric of the next generation. I envision a day when mothers can keep track of the many expenses incurred in caring for children and then qualify for the Earned Income Credit on their annual taxes. Many times, this is the only finiancial compensation they would receive for a year's worth of hard work, and any woman who has raised small children can confirm that she would have EARNED every penny that she would receive.

I have a dream that the women of the future will continue to voice their political opinions at the voting booths. There is no doubt that women played a significant role in the election of Obama to the presidency. Whether their views are conservative or liberal, women can collectively be a voice that government cannot ignore. The individual votes of millions of proactive women can effectively influence the direction of our nation.

I envision a future in which women will carefully cultivate their spiritual selves, realizing that life on Earth is only the beginning of eternity and that they must not fail to prepare constantly for the afterlife, especially in light of the fact that they can be ushered into a non-physical existence at any time.

I have a dream that women will enjoy watching their young children grow and change, knowing that these moments can never again be relived and seizing every opportunity to demonstrate to their children that they love them unconditionally.

Those are my aspirations for the women of the future. I hope that one or two of them strikes a chord in your heart and inspires you to be the best woman you can possibly be!