Unorthodox Women

Unorthodox adj. Independent in behavior and thought

Breaking with tradition or convention

The gospel was one of my favorites, even in Theology Class. It talks about the genealogy of Jesus and how flawed it was. And roughly around a year ago, we discussed this particular passage in Theology Class. In Theology, we did not only discuss the flaws of His lineage but the women remarkable enough to be mentioned in the line of men.

These four women, Tamar, Ruth, the wife of Uriah and Mary, four women who, even in a patriarchal society, earned their own place in history.

I don’t want to make wild claims and compare this simple woman from a rural provincial town to the likes of those four women. But if there is one resemblance I would like to cite and highlight it would be something that most other women would not even admit.

Like those four women, I, too, am flawed.

Trying to stand out in a sea of faces.

Physically, I have a flat nose, morena skin, bushy eyebrows and hardheaded acne. I’m also chubby. I stand 5’7” so that makes me a really big woman. A friend from UP once commented this on my friendster account: Wag niyo siyang babanggain, dahil isa siyang malaking babae. — Definitely not what our culture would define as pretty.

I also have terrible mood swings and a temper that can almost burn steel.

I am a shopaholic, I have mediocre grades, I’m a little sloppy, especially around exam week.

I am not domesticated. I kick dogs for fun. I am terribly afraid of cats. I can be very rude when I want to and with a little tinge (okay maybe a lot) of naughtiness.

Yes, I am flawed. And it is not something I am ashamed of.

Maybe that is why I love hearing or reading that passage. Because of all characters in the Bible, I can definitely relate to them.

I am also lucky enough to surround myself with women achievers. My bestfriend since I can remember recently earned her PhD degree. My bestfriend from college, won the Bb. Lex title last year and is on her way to being a lawyer. And I, well, am trying to live outside the box and be a doctor in a male-dominated specialty. We refuse to be defined by our sexes and try to achieve more that what biology destined us to do.

Our Parish Priest commented a couple of years ago that it would take a real man to tame the woman named Noah. I would beg to disagree. He doesn’t have to tame me, he just needs to keep up.

CBCP YEAR OF THE YOUTH Launch

It was only a few weeks ago when I found out that this Liturgucal Year has been proclaimed by the CBCP as the National Year of the Youth. So without wasting any more time, we dived in and started making plans on how to raise money to fund our year. Our half-baked idea of building a small bamboo Christmas tree (which personally, I think will be a nuisance wherever we would try to put it) was upgraded to a 30-foot all-steel outdoor Christmas tree, with a kick-ass solicitation letter to match.

There were whispers of intrigues shrouding our fundraiser that almost made my co-leader shut the project down. But who would dare scorn a woman such as myself to make me want to scrap a wonderful idea all together? After much pep talk and a few chosen spicy comments thrown at strategic times, our tree stood up beyond our expectations. True to the theme of the YOTY, that standing firm in what you believe in and keeping that love in all the things you do will truly bring one to astonishing heights.

So last Dec 15, we formally launched the CBCP Year of the Youth and lighted up our Tree of Thanksgiving. The tree, donned with locally made parols and with lights pointing up to the sky, keeps all of us looking up to our ambitions and aspirations beyond the stars. The three spotlights that give the tree a yellow glow signifies that this year, the spotlight is on us -- the Parish Youth.

Remember... we are never too young to come as one to make a stand.