Now more than ever, it is so so so important for women to support one another. The year of 2020 has proven to us all that this world is in fact a crazy place and the support of each other is crucial. When women come together and build each other up, there is something extremely special and impactful about it. For those of you who have had the opportunity to work collaboratively with other women, you understand. For those of you who haven’t, I highly recommend it. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen the @thebirdsofpapaya inspired giveaway and photoshoot I did with two lovely, boss babes from my hometown. Krystal & Carlyn are two women that are so different yet I consider both to be trendsetters, entrepreneurs, and just all around bad-asses in the area. Not only was it fun and exciting to work with these two ladies, it was empowering as hell to put our creative minds together and create such a fun shoot and giveaway promotion. We shot several looks and they were all pretty bomb if you ask me. Take a look for yourself!

Question – why is it that women tend to be the hardest and nastiest to each other? “Her hair is awful”, or “she should not be wearing that”, or “what’s up with her makeup”. Historically, women have been pinned against each other to compete for things that have been scarce such as jobs opportunities, promotions, and titles. I think it has forced women to be very competitive with one another and caused us to try and “one-up” each other resulting in bad attitudes and lowered self esteem. However, this attitude isn’t how we will change the equation. We need to stop pinning us up against each other and start lifting each other up instead. The only way to change this mentality and attitude is to come together and celebrate each other – celebrate our differences in every shape, colour, and size. Because let’s be real… if everyone was the same it would be a big yawn fest. 

Take Krystal & I for example – we are both lifestyle bloggers from the same small-town in northern Ontario, and both launched our blogs in the same week. To be completely honest, the first thing that popped into my head when I found out was “well shit… that sucks”. BUT WHY?? Why does that suck? It’s actually great. As soon as I took a minute and thought about the pros of the situation and how sick it would be to collaborate with Krystal instead of compete against her, my attitude completely changed. We now celebrate our blogs and creativity together and that to me is WAY more powerful, impactful, and cooler than some girl (me) sitting there with a negative attitude trying to navigate this thing alone. 

There are some businesses that have fully embraced the girl-power attitude and are wildly successful and inspirational because of it. Some women-run businesses I love are: Smash & Tess, Brunette the Label, Mejuri, and Glossier to only name a few. These retailers not only have amazing, and I mean AMAZING, products, but they also have important messages and values. Forever rooting for them!

All I have left to say is…girl power!! 👊

Until next hump day…

Peace & love!

TL