Really, every woman is an example to me, because as women we go

When Mary J. Blige proclaimed, “Really, every woman is an example to me, because as women we go through so much pain. We have to live this perfect life when we are messed up inside. We all go through trials and tribulations,” she was not merely speaking of her own journey, but giving voice to a timeless lament. For the story of women across ages is the story of strength hidden beneath sorrow, of radiant faces concealing storms within. The world demands perfection, yet seldom offers mercy; it commands beauty and grace, even when the heart is burdened with unseen wounds.

Her words uncover the paradox of the feminine path: to bear pain while walking as if unbroken, to be forced into masks of composure while enduring the silent weight of expectation. The ancients themselves sang of this burden. In Greek tragedy, figures like Antigone stood torn between duty and desire, forced to bear the crushing demands of family and law while their spirits bled unseen. To be a woman has often meant to shine outwardly while trembling inwardly.

Yet from this crucible arises power. When Blige says, “every woman is an example to me,” she crowns each with honor, for each survival story is a testament to endurance. The mother who raises her children through poverty, the daughter who cares for the ill while suppressing her tears, the sister who shoulders ridicule yet walks on—each is a living scripture of resilience. Their trials and tribulations are not signs of weakness, but sacred fires in which strength is forged.

History offers us heroines carved from such suffering. Think of Harriet Tubman, who bore the scars of slavery yet led her people through the night toward freedom. Outwardly she was a woman hunted, yet inwardly she was steel unbreakable. She, too, had to appear calm when death lurked at every step, embodying this truth that behind suffering lies a strength that moves mountains.

Thus, Mary J. Blige’s words are not despair but revelation. To recognize the pain women endure is to honor the courage that keeps them rising each day. To admit that perfection is a mask is to strip away illusion and see the sacred truth of perseverance. Let the generations remember: greatness is not found in lives untouched by sorrow, but in spirits who, though wounded, still stand tall. For in the trials of women, the world has always found its deepest lessons of resilience, dignity, and unyielding hope.