By Samantha McKenzie

Women need a support system.

We need a trusted circle of sisters who will listen to us. We need a group of other women who will give us a fresh perspective on a particular situation or invite us to try a new approach. We need a tribe of sisters who will help us laugh away our tears and remind us to create better memories. To live. To smile more. To grow.

We also need to be understood.

We don’t need a good ole “girls” club. We don’t want an easy pass through life. We aren’t interested in friends who will look the other way when we are in error. We don’t want a “bro code” brand. We want a softer, kinder, gentler nation of supporters.

We need a salient sisterhood of women who give each other the benefit of the doubt. Who understand the load we carry, and offer a hand instead of criticism. We want real sisters who give us room to grow and mess up and still welcome us with open arms.

We want unconditional love.

We want forgiveness.

We want a support system of women who share a similar journey  and  who don’t judge us during our trials. We want this sisterhood to lend us their compassion, especially when we are in pain. Because we all go through something. We want the sisterhood to allow us to take off our Superwoman capes and rid us of the shame of not being able to do it all. We want sisters who reject the concept of perfection and support our flaws.

We prefer this new world of women to open its arms to the complexity of the jobs we do and lift us up in spirit. Because that’s what real women should do for one another.

We want a support system that doesn’t allow us to suffer in silence and to hold our hands and guide us to a safe place where we can be fragile and vulnerable and feminine. We want a system of support that runs to our aid when we are in need. We deserve nothing less.

If I could write our new womanhood creed, it would sound something like this:

We are a body of women, separated only by land or age, but joined together by spirit. We are one. We recognize the unique, undeniable power we possess and pay homage to the tender contributions we’ve made to this life. We celebrate our collective greatness and individual achievements. We are, and will always be, a reflection of each other. When one succeeds, we all do. Although the history books deny us, the memory of time praises our name. We are and have been enough. And we always will be.