1. My standards are as valid as those of others.   2. Feeling the intensity of chronic pain in its entirety; associating even the smallest of individually positive moments of life with something safe that allows a rush of good hormones; speaking a conviction aloud because it’s one of the few times where the inner child is allowed to decide [and grow]. That’s not crazy. That’s not wrong. That’s healing.   3. A delay in speech can mean many things: sometimes, we’re thinking. Sometimes, we’re frozen. Sometimes, we’re feeling shock with such intensity we are chilled and our speech comes

There are certainly more strong female characters in fiction now than ever before, but even with these changes, there is just as certainly, room for a wider and fairer portrayal of the world of women in media, and always cause for celebration of those which have stood out. The Damsel in Distress has thankfully, mostly, screamed her last plea for help, and we hear a lot about Kick-Ass Females in both book and movie culture but it seems to me that we often have a slightly different idea of what makes a woman ‘strong’. I love a fictional heroine who