A confession:

I almost forgot International Women’s Day.

I mean, I didn’t forget; it’s more that I was aware that it was coming up and had mulled over ideas for a blog post, and then I forgot about that, and so I was sat at home at 9:30pm going “Damn, I don’t actually know what to write except for ‘Hooray for women.’”

Then I realised I’d kind of got it into my head that today was the only day I could make a post for the sole purpose of celebrating women, which of course isn’t true. I know certain people think even this one day is too much (“But when is International Men’s Day?”), but when I think of all the women I admire, it is if only for practical reasons nowhere near enough.

Today, I’m in awe of a woman who’s continued campaigning for the education of Pakistani girls after surviving an attempt on her life, and who recently became the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee at the age of fifteen. I’m in awe of women who hear your cries of “Women aren’t funny!” and are laughing in your face. I’m in awe of a politician who could probably get elected US president in her sleep, of a writer whose female characters are role models for young girls everywhere, and of actresses who challenge casual sexism. I’m in awe of feminists who speak out on the Internet and get enough hate that you’d think they were drowning puppies on camera, but who carry on because they are watching their point being proven over and over again. I’m in awe of the nine-year-old future queen of the silver screen and a singer who has taken the world by storm. I’m in awe of a fictional press secretary who could easily plan world domination as her next career move. (It’s not too late for a spin-off, NBC; give me Who Run The World? CJ Cregg and all will be forgiven.) I’m in awe of my mother and my sister and my best friend.

This is a tiny, tiny fraction of women I admire, and I still kind of wish I’d taken the time to show my appreciation for them with a longer blog post that made a really well thought out point. On the other hand, perhaps the only point that matters is this: I admired them yesterday, and I will admire them tomorrow, and when International Women’s Day rolls around again, I’ll be adding to that list.