Who runs the world? Girls! This week, Sticky Rice spotlights some of the special women that we have had the honor of learning from. Globally recognized as International Women’s Day, March 8th is an important day to honor strong women throughout history, and our lives. Our Peace Corps Thailand volunteers have written small articles highlighting women in their lives with a tremendous impact. We’d love to hear about influential women in your life as well, tell us in the comments!
Lilly Hromadka, 135 TESS
To the women I call “Mom,”
There are many of you. I am beyond blessed. I was always the girl with a lot of strong mother figures in her life. The number grew as I did. Now, you span countries and continents, phases of my life.
To the close friends, aunts, and cousins, who raised my siblings and me alongside my parents. Endless carpools and playdates, sleepovers and road trips. Conversations about school, love, whispered hopes and flightless dreams. Sage wisdom and wiping away tears. Filling glasses with wine, laughter and adventures.
To the women in Spain, Germany, Italy and beyond, who took me into their homes and their hearts. Those that nourished me as their own, fed me their support and wrapped me in their understanding and joy. Those that took me eagerly by the hand and showed me how to stretch my existence to new realities, gently folding in respect, authenticity and compassion.
To the women from whom I came. My mother and her mother, and my dad’s mom, whose warmth has always been felt even though she is just a hazy, light-filled memory. From all of you I was given everything, more than I could’ve imagined. More than I deserved. More than I can ever thank you for.
And finally, to my many Thai “Maes”. “Mae” is the Thai word for mother. Here, it is used as a respectful address for a woman who appears around your mother’s age or older, whether you know them or not. The main women on my mind are my 2 host moms, my host aunt, my Director, my co-teacher, and a few older teachers at my school. But I have many maes in many communities across the country. The mae I buy fruit from. The lady who makes the best fried bananas. The one who runs the corner store. My neighbors. Thai women embody a level of love and care that rivals even my Hispanic roots in its encompassing ferocity.
To all of you I say, thank you for showing me what it is to be a woman.
Through your motherhood, and beyond it. Before it. In harmony with it. Despite it.
You are my past, present, and future—a powerful history written in the struggle of living, human moments. You embody so many different truths, none of you matching the same definition. I met you all as a different person, and some I have had the honor of learning from as many different versions of myself. Your presence has shaped me. I have taken a piece of all of you with me as I’ve grown, and treasured your silent support and guidance as much as the physical and verbal manifestations of your love. I haven’t absorbed every part of you – there are some things I don’t want, though I love them because they are you.
And the parts balance each other out. The loud and the quiet, the soft and the hard, the passionate and the indifferent, the cautious and the fearless, the determined and the passive. In all of it I have seen your strength. In all of it I have known the best women worth knowing. In all of it, we have made mistakes, misunderstood, struggled. Tripped over hurt, and stumbled into empathy and love regardless.
My journey isn’t done. I will forever be learning what it means to be a woman. Some places I find myself fighting to make space for “woman”; to fit in new ones, to uncover the ones that are already there, and not lose any of us in the process. It’s hard, and it’s messy, and it’s undeniably beautiful. I am bolstered by the knowledge that across the world, spanning countries, and continents, and time itself, I have my moms. Praying. Loving. Watching my back. Walking alongside me. Forever with me in the curve of my smile, the set of my shoulders, the confidence of my gait, and the love in my heart.
Sticky Rice 
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