Miss Salt City Nigeria Mercy Madueke's ''The Essence Of Womanhood'

(These are the sincere thoughts of a recently crowned Queen, Salt city Nigeria 2016, on the 12^th of February 2016, Queen Mercy Madukwe,is a Lawyer and she writes on womanhood)

I was asked the essence of womanhood at the audition of Miss Salt City Nigeria 2016, the essence of my being a woman and I replied it is to help bring a change to womanhood. It is to be able to lend a helping hand to women everywhere and by extension to men alike in areas where there is a lacuna. At the centre of womanhood are support and creation: support for self, family and society, creation of new ideas, methods, moral values, a godly home and even a new life. 

Having to understand these essentials brings to the fore why all womenfolk need to discover themselves as women. As a woman, you are like a spring to the whole world. I mean that without us, there would be no procreation, excitement, colour, innovation and great ideas. Everything in existence was created to suit our taste and aid our support to men. This is how special womanhood is. It is not our making; it was all fashioned so by the creator of the universe. It takes a lot to transit from the phase of childhood to womanhood.  It takes patience to learn and understand than to strife. Only a woman with good morals and positive vibes to life knows the essence of womanhood.

No man ever wants to place a woman higher than him. The reverse is always the case. As a woman, some attributes make me proud to stand out and confidently speak my mind. Those attributes are what define my being. The totality of my being are those genetic, biological, physical and inherent attributes that I have discovered within. You cannot be a good orator if you have not tried speaking in public gatherings. It could be cell fellowship, group meetings, bible study sessions etc. Build your confidence today, develop a sense of self esteem and determination, this will make you get to your desired height. Words like “I don’t speak well, I don’t dress well, I don’t look good, what will they say, how will I start, what if I am jeered at, what if and what if won’t take you to the top.” Discard those thoughts, erase those feelings and say what you have to say. 

Someone who has not heard you speak before will be attracted by your eloquence, mannerism, and choice of words and will love to listen. Don’t nurse a tone of disbelief or resentment for yourself. When addressing a crowd, maintain a level of composure. Don’t let side talks by people come between you and your confidence. If faced by a situation where you hear something by people that demoralizes your person, rather than face the individual, address the crowd confidently and tackle the situation with wisdom. Learn to fill yourself with edifying books, the WORD OF GOD and discussions that build you. Be around people that encourage and bring out the best in you. Make it a point of duty to ask questions if you don’t understand a subject. 

Listen more than you talk and when you finally speak, address every issue with God-given wisdom. Don’t think you can ever face any crowd without His grace. Pray ceaselessly. You might just be hit with a question and you will be taken overboard but the grace of God will help you bounce back and tackle the question wisely. Contentment has always been a great gain; don’t desire to be like Miss A or Mrs B because you are two entirely different persons. Be yourself and strive for excellence. 

To the men, you have got an asset right there at home, in school, at your work place. Don’t underestimate the value of that woman you have or will have. Always compliment her and you will see her coming up with great ideas. It is only by interaction that horizons are widened. Learn to interact and broaden your intellect, no one is an island. You will think you know so much about a subject until a day when you are faced with persons from different works of life who seem to know better on that subject than you do.

 The world is a dangerous place to people who have failed to live a peaceful, honest, straightforward life. Begin now to count the number of times you sit down to process positive thoughts. It must not always be about fun, fun and fun. Remember, your thoughts are a reflection of your true self. Give me feedback on how well you have done so far and how useful this writing has been to you.

Queen Mercy Madukwe (LLB; B.L; M/CIArb)