A is for the applecart that I am probably about to upset...

There has been an underdeveloped idea that has been stuck in my craw since undergrad.  Maybe before that, but I am not sure. 

I am sure, however, of the two ideas whose convergence created the new idea.

Idea #1:  I am truly in love with my faith.  At an early age, I fell head-over-heels in love with Jesus, and many had me pegged as a “Future Nun” before I was even out of elementary school.  The lives of saints inspired me.  Mary became my confidant and it was She who I would whisper secrets to that I was not comfortable even writing in my own diary about.  When I needed comfort during those nasty teenage years when parents just don’t understand and friends are a luxury, I often could be found sitting on my bed either praying the rosary or reading the Bible.  From Junior year of high school and even now when I take any FLDOE exam, I have a rosary either in my pocket or wrapped around my left hand.  In college, although I may have not made it to weekly Mass, I never wavered in my prayers and study of my faith.  Even when I was ridiculed by both classmates and professors in philosophy class for holding on to my “repressive” and “ignorant” belief system, I never faltered.  Even to this day, I am always trying to learn something new, or remember to pray every day.

Idea #2:  Women’s studies is equally inspiring and interesting.  I did not take the opportunity to take any women’s study course while in college, but I consider myself well self-educated on the subject.  Women’s roles, and the evolution there of is endlessly fascinating.  The way the “feminine ideal” has bend and stretched in the way that society needs them to is something I do not hesitate to geek out on. 

The convergence is this.

I consider myself a feminist.  No, I am not trying to be silly, or ironic, or sarcastic.  I really am a feminist.  I believe in women’s right to choose a profession, a life, a breakfast cereal.  Something even crazier, I believe that Christianity, specifically of the Roman Catholic varietal, and pro-feminism are not mutually exclusive concepts.  I do, however, think that the idea of feminism is centuries old even if the word is less than a century old.

So this is what I propose.

For the A to Z blog challenge, I will prove to you that there is a crossroads between Christianity and Feminism.  It will be a journey full of bumps and maybe even boring stretches, but it will be the journey that I will be on, and I invite you to it as well.

Just don’t forget a snack.  There won’t be many pit stops on this road trip.