What Is It Called to be Strong?

"A woman is like a teabag. It's only when she's in hot water that you realize how strong she is."--Nancy Reagan

Membaca line ini, bikin gw bingung – yang bisa disebut kuat itu yang kaya’ gimana? Persepsi kuat untuk setiap orang kan berbeda, dan interpretasi kuat juga bisa berbeda-beda tergantung penggunaannya… Kalo di kamus sih - kuat berarti memiliki kemampuan untuk mengangkat sesuatu yang berat, awet, tahan, tidak mudah rusak, tidak mudah, rapuh, tidak mudah goyah, dsb.

Jadi, perempuan yang bisa disebut kuat itu perempuan yang seperti apa? Perempuan yang ngga cengeng itu yang kaya’ apa? Yang ngga pernah nangis/yang susah nangis? Menurut gw sih (terserah menurut kalian haha), perempuan yang ngga cengeng itu yang ngga sering mengeluh dan bersungut-sungut. Kebanyakan orang beranggapan bahwa, perempuan yang kuat adalah perempuan yang ngga gampang nangis, mandiri (melakukan segala sesuatu sendiri), tangguh, ngga girlish, dan seterusnya…

Dulu, I want to be strong – strong like almost every woman think it is strong. I want to be strong – keep smiling whatever circumstance I am in, keep fighting to get what she wants, not easy to cry, not a dependent woman – I can live a life on my own… Then I realize, the strength of a woman don’t come from anything but her heart. If a woman’s heart is strong – semua yang disebut kuat di atas tadi akan mengikuti dengan sendirinya, I think. Maksudnya, bukan berarti dia jadi doesn’t need anything in her life beside her heart – but that she has a girlish style, that a woman cries sometimes, that she behaves lovely/cutely/softly/whatever – it doesn’t mean that she isn’t strong.

Now I realize, bukan ‘kuat’ seperti itu yang gw pengen. It’s sooooo hard. If I try to be strong like almost every woman think it’s strong – kaya’nya di ujungnya kita ngga akan mendapatkan hal lain kecuali luka dan kepalsuan (sedaaaap!). I mean, we smile because we have to. We act tough because we used to. We don’t cry because we’re ashame to. I don’t want to be that kind of woman. I just want to be a woman who never lose her loving heart in all circumstances and never lose the beauty of her heart. Hey… Beauty is the part of a woman, right? (Buat yang baca dan jika Anda adalah seorang perempuan, don’t deny this line “Women pursue beauty.” Iya kaaaan?) I want to live merely, purely, and wide-heartly.

For some, a strong woman is a woman who can stand on her own – she doesn’t even need a man. For some, a strong woman is a woman who can act like a man – physically tough, she doesn’t even know how to cry. For others, a strong woman is a woman who live her life and love it. But for me, a strong woman is a woman who can love merely, in all circumstances – with her heart of love, she brings life.

So…? It’s so-so…

Kalau gw pergi dari dunia ini nantinya (hehehehehe… mellow mode: ON),
I want to be remembered as a woman with a huge heart, not a too-independent-woman-who-can-stand-on-her-own-and-doesn’t-need-anyone-to-hold-on.
I want to be remembered as a woman of a loving heart, a woman who has a mere feminine heart.