Women to Admire: Beyoncé

All hail Queen Bey, a true music icon, maverick and feminist. Let’s admit it, there are few things better in this world than being Beyoncé.

Fierce, fabulous, and ***Flawless. All words to describe Beyoncé who, honestly, needs no introduction. The one-word name speaks for itself.

When I was in elementary school, during the whole Destiny’s Child comeback year, all my friends and I fought to be Beyoncé (no offense to Michelle, Kelly and LeToya who without them, Destiny’s Child would never have existed.)

There was just something about her that we all recognized made her stand out and being the leader of the group was always the best part. At my house, we blasted her first solo album, Dangerously in Love, while trying to copy her unmatchable vocals.

Beyoncé is just that person who we’ve somehow grown up with after all these years, except most of have never had the fortune of meeting her.

But something happened after the years of B’Day, I Am… Sasha Fierce and 4. It was like an awakening for a Beyoncé who knew what she was about, and didn’t need anybody else’s help to do it. That’s when her secret, self-titled album Beyoncé was released in 2013. You have to be pretty monumental to drop something without warning and still sell 80,000 copies just in three hours.

And just when you thought she was done, she took it to the next level. Lemonade dropped with Formation as the first single. In that song, she was unapologetically black and embraced her culture on levels that maybe only Black Panther could match.

Believe me, after seeing her Super Bowl performance (which featured actual Black Panther Party-influenced outfits) I had to buy tickets to the Formation World Tour immediately. If you recall, this was just after legendary musician Prince died, so I wanted to make sure I at least saw Beyoncé in my lifetime.

Seeing the concert was incredible, of course. And oddly made me reflect on who I wanted to be and how far I could take my success. Okay, I’m not the one who wants to sell out concert venues and perform in front of hundreds of people — but it made me think, “how can I be the Beyoncé of my work?” If she could make it, I certainly can get close.

Whether you consider yourself a part of the BeyHive or not, you can’t deny the drive she has and inspiration she serves for women, musicians and all others. She’s a gift to this Earth and truly irreplaceable.

Editor’s Note: Every day in March, we here at Culturess will feature a Woman to Admire — both real and fictional — for Women’s History Month. Keep coming back every day to see who’s made it on the list.