If you have not heard about Beyonce’s HBO documentary “Life is but a dream” that aired this past weekend then you probably live under a rock or you are pretty good at not keeping up with pop culture.Personally, I am a fan of the persona that is Beyonce. I do not know her as a person but the image she puts out to the public is pretty good. Many see her for the great artist and businesswoman that she is and others who know her personally see her for more. In her documentary, for the first time people are let into her world to see how her personal and public life collide.Most reviews were pretty positive but one writer in the Huffington Post really stood but pointing out that even though this was a documentary it wasn’t really. Because we all know Beyonce would never really let us into her actual life and, of course, someone else usually does a documentary. You can’t produce your own documentary and expect it to be totally unbiased.Anyway there were a few lessons that women could have taken from the documentary. Overall, you can tell she is a normal woman like all of us battling with different little issues; in her case, control. That lesson of control is something I deal with all the time, obviously not on ‘Queen Bey’s’ (true fans know this nickname) but on my own ‘average’ woman level. I cannot wait until I am able to have full control of my career and call the shots on my daily life and not have to work for anyone. But until that day I will sit tight and collect all these little titbits of advice. Her experience with firing her father as a manager also shows that you reach a point in life whereby the people closest to you may not always be the best advisors. This is something I learnt because if it was up to my parents I would be on the path to some boring career. This does not mean I love them any less but it simply means they have taught me how to make the best decisions for myself and stand on my own two feet. As for her relationship with her husband, she told Oprah in an interview a while back that they talked to each as friends for a whole year before they went on a real date. This may sound like a long time in this day and age whereby you move from meeting someone one day to becoming Facebook buddies the next, followed by some sexting and then the ‘real’ thing. Some people need a year to get to know someone, others a couple of months but getting to know the other person is essential in building a lasting foundation if you want it to work. One thing for sure is that most women around the world deal with the pretty much the same issues no matter what tax bracket they are in or colour of their skin. We are all afraid of being vulnerable and want to be nice but really there is no space for that in this world because you will get chewed up and spit out by either your boss at work or the man you are dating. We have to learn and maintain our inner strength which will help control the other aspects of your life.What are your thoughts on Beyonce’s documentary? Do you deal with the same issues? Hit me up on 21stcenturywoman@newtimes.co.rw
