I've been thinking about starting this blog series for a while and just haven't gotten around to doing it. I guess that's a hazard of having too many great ideas and not enough energy/drive/will power to actually get them all done. Anyhoo, it's been pressing on me for a while and I want to start it, at the very least. Hopefully, I will finish it as well.
Most people who know me well know that I have long been a champion of all things female. I feel that there is not enough celebration of, respect for, or admiration for the 50% of the population who play a large role in insuring the population continues. I realize that not everyone feels that way, and that's ok. But I do, and my blog has always been a place for me to celebrate and challenge what it means to be female in the world I experience. In my quest to capture what it means to be female, I have been fortunate enough to come across some amazing women who have inspired me, challenged me, and encouraged me to continue my journey. I would like to pay homage to those women with this series. With each new post, you will see women who are different ages, have different lifestyles, who express themselves differently. What I hope you will notice is the same courage, determination, strength, and beauty that defines all of them. These are the women who inspire me:
Blondie
The woman I want to start this series with is a dear friend of mine. Let's call her "Blondie". Blondie and I have known each other all our lives. I find it fascinating and awe-inspiring that I have known this girl for so long and yet she continues to inspire me. She's always been "spunky", as she was called when we were kids. When I was younger, I thought of her as fearless. Now that I'm older, I realize Blondie is not fearless, she is courageous. She has fear (just like all of us), and yet, she continually steps into situations and experiences that post people would shy away from. Blondie loves to experience life and she strives to live life to the fullest. She does not let fear or self-doubt keep her from what she wants. That's amazing to me. She wakes up every day with all the same or similar feelings and emotions I do and she makes the decision to keep fighting for her dreams. In order for you to understand what an amazing feat that is, you need to know a little more about Blondie.
Blondie was born and raised in a less than stellar environment. She was put down a lot, criticized a lot, and told she was bad through and through. Her love of life was criticized as being rebellious and perverted. She struggled in school, and instead of her learning difficulties being identified and addressed, she was told she was lazy and rebellious and was punished repeatedly. I think it's safe to say that Blondie was misunderstood and misidentified for much of her childhood. I'm pretty sure that most of the adults in her life weren't confident she would ever make anything of herself. Yet, Blondie didn't let her rough childhood define her. She chose to make something good out of it. I'm pretty sure her determination and ability to be an incredibely hard worker are the result of her childhood experiences. Blondie also managed to completely ignore the things she was told as a child and instead learn to believe in herself. She is one of the most beautifully confident women I know. She is aware of her flaws, but she does not try to hide them. She is honest about who she is while still being proud of who she is. She is always working to make herself better without losing sight of how great she already is. That's a huge feat for a any woman, much less a woman like Blondie.
Today, Blondie is a wife and the mother of 2 beautiful children. While she was pregnant with her second child, she put herself through school so she could pursue a career she thought she would be good at. While raising her children, she has worked part-time to help provide financially for her family. Her work schedule and life schedule have been chaotic and not easy to deal with, but you won't hear her complain about it. She simply gets up every day and does what needs to be done, while looking fabulous, I might add. :) She has made some hard choices and been criticized for those choices, but she has stood by them because she believed they were the best thing for her family. At times she has been afraid that she was failing miserably, but she has never allowed the fact that she will make mistakes stop her from trying to be the best wife and mother she can be. She is, honestly, one of the best mothers I know. I have watched her be a mother for more than 5 years, and I am continually in awe of the masterful way in which she balances love, patience, discipline, and encouragement. I can only hope that one day I am as good as she is at being a mother.
There's so much more I could say about Blondie and how much she inspires me. There is no way to capture it all in this one post. What I do hope I captured was the amazing woman she is. Blondie inspires me to continually work to be the best version of myself that I can be. She challenges me to be confident in myself, to be a hard worker without complaining about my circumstances. She encourages me to keep fighting for my dreams and to not be afraid to try. Knowing Blondie makes me more courageous and more determined. I am a better person because she is in my life.
