Be the Rebel You were Born to Be by Laura Francis
Be the Rebel You were Born to Be by Laura Francis
I
’ ve been rebelling against what other people wanted for me my entire life ... And for good reason ! As a kid it was nothing for me to hear what my parents said and take no fucking notice . It was perfectly natural for me . Because , what they wanted for me was totally out of alignment with who I was , the person I was created to be and apparently , my life ’ s purpose .
My mother , born and raised in the rural Australia , was typical of women from her generation . She didn ’ t finish school . She married young . She had many children . Sure she had a few jobs , but when she married there was no need for her to do that anymore .
Although , she did work - fucking hard and like a ‘ man ’ - beside my father . Working cattle and sheep , horses , pulling half dead stock from the dams during floods , fighting bushfires ... You name it and my mother did it . But , first and foremost , she was wife and mother . And , that was considered to be a GOOD THING !!
As with most women of her generation , she was raised to believe THAT was her lot in life . My 61 mother married for money ; my father wasn ’ t a wealthy man . But , I do believe she didn ’ t want us to have to work as hard as she did .
Throughout my childhood and into early adulthood , I heard her say , hundreds of times , “ You need to find a rich husband and settle down ”. Every time I ’ d hear that , I would also hear myself saying ( silently - in my mind )... LIKE FUCK I WILL !!
Now , I have no issues or hangups around being rich . Nor do I have around marriage ... BUT , I DO believe marriage is about so much more than ‘ being together for money or status ’ or being ‘ owned ’ by your partner , like you ’ re a prize possession or ‘ part ’ of the fucking dowry bestowed upon him .
I ALSO believe that as a woman , as a human being , we are absofuckinglutely VALUABLE and WORTHWHILE and COMPE- TENT and CAPABLE and that we can CREATE OUR OWN RICHES . In most corners of the globe , girls and women have equal access to quality education and opportunities as boys and men . WE SURE AS FUCK DON ’ T NEED TO MARRY FOR
MONEY OR STATUS
Now , I know there are still plenty of men AND women who believe this is the right way to live life BUT that ’ s sure as fuck NOT how I see things . Even as a young girl , I believed that was NOT the way to do LIFE . I got my first job at 14 years old and have either worked or been self-employed every year since ( we ’ re talking 30 years here !!) And , I remember being 22 years old with two children under 5 , a lazy arsed husband who wouldn ’ t work and having a desperate need to earn , get , create and have more money of my own .
One day , while visiting my mother I mentioned that I ’ d applied for a particular job , even though I already had one , and that I really needed to get THAT job so I could provide for my family . AND FUCK ME IF SHE DIDN ’ T SAY THE WORDS THAT I KNEW WERE HANG- ING ON HER LIPS
‘ That ’ s what your husband is for !’
Gobsmacked by her prehistoric thinking , I looked directly at her and said “ I can make my own