And, just like that, July comes upon us with its heavy rains and beautiful afternoons! Every time a new month begins, I feel excited, it's like a little New Year's Eve for me. Related to that is my next thought, which is...I'm glad I'm a woman.

I was talking to a good friend on the phone the other night. We talked for a long time, just like we used to when we were in high school. The subject was pretty usual amongst girls: we were talking about love and about boys...about loving boys. I was pointing out how I thought that when it came to relationships, and life in general (except for the -could be- natural impulse that men have to play the role of the "providers" and "protectors" that even now, that women are emancipating and changing the way traditional families and societies work, it's almost inevitable and must be a huge source of stress throughout their lives), being a man was much easier -maybe I mean simpler- than being a woman: I find myself, and the rest of women, to be extremely complicated. Complicated in different ways and levels, but complicated all the same.

Being a woman implies a lot of rules and expectations. There is a pressure on all women to be true to the idea that the world has created of what a woman is and/or how she should be: what she should think and want, how she should look and behave...this isn't always easy to deal with. And even though today there is a universal effort to make men and women live and work in equal terms and have the same opportunities, this is still far from being a reality.

Being a woman also entails a lot of physical and emotional challenges. Hormones are a real Judas, if you know what a mean.

Anyways, while I continued making my point, I started to see how being a woman, in all its complications, is a blessing. And I'm not saying that being a man isn't, but you see, if you're a woman you will not doubt me when I assure you that a woman's life is filled with magic. We pay attention to the smallest things in everything, we get excited about practically anything, we make each day a magical journey and fill it with emotion, imagination and excitement.

So...I'm happy July is here and I'm happy I'm a woman. I'm conscious about its privileges and complications, and I wouldn't want to experience this world through other eyes than my own. I live in my own world. I love my own world.