Gratitude in one hand, hope in the other

Is it okay to want more?

Society has always had a way of questioning women when they do.
When a man wants more, he’s called ambitious.
When a woman wants more, she’s called ungrateful.

But maybe — just maybe — the reason so many of us long for more
is because we’ve had to battle for less
in the first place.

We’re told to be grateful.
Grateful for what we have.
For where we are.
For how far we’ve come.

And I am.
But sometimes gratitude feels like a quiet battle with yearning.
Because deep down, there’s this whisper:
“I want more.”

I want more opportunities to learn.
To grow.
To reach my fullest potential
without being made to feel like I should apologise for it.

I’ve realised something:
where growth stops, I stop.

Wanting more doesn’t mean I reject what I have.
It doesn’t mean I lack gratitude.
It means I believe in what could be.

It means I see the version of myself
I haven’t fully met yet —
and I want to know her.

So yes,
I want more.
More courage.
More freedom.
More spaces where women are allowed
to take up room
without shrinking themselves
to make others comfortable.

And if that makes me ungrateful in their eyes,
so be it.

Because maybe wanting more
isn’t rebellion at all.
Maybe it’s just refusing
to settle for less than what we deserve.