No Longer "Little" Women

When I was five, my dad read Katie and I the book Little Women as our bedtime story. As a young girl with two sisters, it was my biggest goal to be just like these iconic sisters. I loved their adventures, their passion, their love for one another.

My family made sure to go see the newest Little Women movie the night it came out. I expected to continue to be encouraged and inspired. Instead, it was all a little too real. The movie showed the progression of girls growing into women, and the joy that comes with that, but also the heartache. At one point, Jo tells her sister, Meg, that as soon as she gets married their childhood is over. "You will be bored of him in two years and we will be interesting forever".

My sisters and I are no longer the little girls who heard Little Women read aloud to us. We are those women. Katie is now a freshman in college and loving her independence. Ellie is  conquering life and taking on extra projects. I am about to fly out for a study abroad program in Cairo, Egypt. With all of this life that we each are living, I feel like Jo. I almost want to beg us to stop with all this newness and just keep the good life we have together.

Little Women wouldn't be much of a story without each of the girls growing up and doing what they love. Even the hardest parts of the story (like the death of Beth), are necessary for these women to become who they are supposed to be. And just like Meg, Jo, Amy, and Beth, my sisters and I can't stop growing without growing stagnant, no matter how interesting we think we are.

So, in this 2019, here is to growth