FEMME WAVE 2017 - My Role Model!

Only a week and a half away (10 days to be exact) until FEMME WAVE 2017 kicks off in Calgary on November 16!! Although I've never identified myself as a feminist before but as time goes by it's becoming a movement that I want to expand and help inspire younger women generations across borders. Then I take a look at my own life and to be honest, there is only really one woman in my life at this very moment who I can say really inspired me to be the woman I am today. This list will grow because I have just met some really stratospheric women figures and extremely excited to have them in my life.

My MOM! Cliche perhaps but it is the truth. I probably don't tell her enough but she is truly THE STRONGEST woman I have ever known. She is resilience, she is humility, she is selfless, she is loving, she is unconditional, she is hard working, she is tough, she is strong and she is my mom. I love my daddy but it was my mom who literally taught her 3 daughters about impeccable work ethic, compassion, kindness, perseverance and life really. I am who I am because of my mom. She has gone through a lot from childhood till now and she will always be my first role model and rock...even though it doesn't appear to be so.

If you haven't already CALGARY, I will be kicking off brunch November 18, 2017 at Sidewalk Citizen Bakery at 10am where you will be able to enjoy a delicious brunch and I'll be serving up a side of my R&B/Neosoul flavour, intimately with you! Get your tickets by clicking here!! To get all of CALGARY geared up and ready for FEMME WAVE 2017 (November 16-19), here is the next 3 female empowerment songs that I believe really captures the essence of the festival!

1) Martina McBride - "This One's for the Girls" (2003)

This song came out when I was in junior high and I didn't really think much of it. Back in the day when we were young we would listen to songs but we wouldn't really listen to it. We would lip sync to the catchy melodies and pretend we were in music videos but we never paid attention to the words or messages. This song is dedicated for all the girls from high school, to young career women, to a middle-aged woman trying to buy back the times of her youth but really is a song that celebrates beautiful women of all stages of life. It encourages girls to "dream with all they have, love without holding back, and love themselves the way they are."

2) Alicia Keys - "Superwoman' (2008)

As you all know my spirit animal is Alicia Keys and she has so many singles about women empowerment that it was so hard to choose one. I chose "Superwoman" because one of my life's goal is to use my music to make the world a better place one song at a time. This song encompasses exactly that as it also depicts the hardships that women go through and somehow still find a way to become our own superhero and subtly for others while always putting on "a vest, with an S on [our] chest". This is a beautiful tribute to all mothers (and other women) who endeavour, very much like myself to support humanity, make a positive difference in the world and to make it truly a beautiful world that it always was.

3) Christina Aguilera - "Beautiful" (2002)

This song will always be timeless for today's young women who are growing up in a world much different than 10 years ago today just with social media pressures alone. It does not matter what other people say, we are all beautiful - a powerful line that speaks to the power of resilience, believing and knowing your own worth. Amidst all the negativity that may come our way to try to "bring us down", we have to remain firm, steady and unwavering in the knowledge that you only need yourself for validation, NOT by the number of followers or likes we get on our social media pages.

Here it is ladies! What are some of your favourite songs that screams quietly just how awesome being a girl is?!