Beautiful Women

This past month, I've been on this sort of self-imposed journey of surrounding myself with strong female role models, literature, and now music! My goal is just mainly to grow more, and to become a strong female role model for other young girls (starting with my daughter :)I think that in today's culture, there are so many role models for young girls that promote all the wrong things. Think: Hollywood. While its great if a little girl is born loving the stage, wanting to be in pageants, etc, but there are SO many girls out there who aren't wired in that direction. For instance, my daughter is a bit of a tomboy, and would much rather be up to her armpits in mud than in a crinolin dress with make-up on.
She's highly intelligent, has amazing aspirations, and doesn't need the type of role model that People magazine might offer. It is for her, and girls like her, that I dedicate my life to being the best type of role model that I can be.
Some women that I really admire in my life are my mother, my aunt wendy, my aunt kathy, my sister-in-law marcia, my friends heidi, jami, and azure, my cousin anna, my old boss shirley, and many other instructors friends and aquaintances I've met along the way. Each of these women have taught me that when life gets hard, you push back even harder. You rise above your circumstances, you spit in the face of despair, you give 100% (and then some), and you love with all you h ave in you. They've also taught me the utter importance of having strong females in your life. We really do need each other! Its amazing... when you surround yourself with strong, courageous people, it kinda rubs off. Sometimes I find myself having a bad day, throwing myself a bit of a pity-party, and then I realize that I just have to pick up my feet and go on. I feed off of their strength and endeavour (as I gain strength) to contribute to their well-being also.
Some really fabulous books I've read recently include Cunt by Inga Muscio, and Secrets of Powerful Women. Cunt is a fabulous journey into female power and sexuality, and really struck a chord with me because it allowed me to feel proud of things that society tells us are taboo. Some of the ideas are a little beyond my comfort zone, but ultimately I really enjoyed this book.
Secrets of Powerful Women is a collection of speeches given by a variety of women who have achieved so much in their life. This book... I can't even portray the profound effect it has had on my life. Being that I'm in University right now, I wasn't sure what direction I wanted my life to go in. In this book women talked about how they balanced their home life and careers, and all the amazing things they accomplished. I was completely floored... I didn't know that these options were available to me! Reading this book combined with taking a Political Science course has awakened in me a passion for politics that I didn't know existed. I now know that I want to turn my passions and energy towards getting a Political Science degree and getting involved with my country. These women are absolutely inspirational and definately worth the read!
Finally, I've discovered a whole playlist of fascinating female musicians who've been the soundtrack to my discovery. Amoung my favorites are Canadian artist Serena Ryder, Tracy Chapman, Laura Marling, Ani DiFranco, Dar Williams, Regina Spektor, and the whole The Runaways soundtrack. Incredible women doing profound things, awakening people to issues and taboo subjects through their sweet voices and musical abilities.
This I offer as a challenge: if you are a woman in need of inspiration, seek it out! Not only will you experience a journey that will change your life and empower you, but you will be an inspiration to others. There will be challenges: I come across people even in this day and age who don't agree with some of my lifestyle choices (such as living with my boyfriend). I just smile, because I am so fully confident that I'm on the right path. I don't need the approval of others. Ultimately, I know that my pack of women have my back and will always give me a soft place to fall. So call up your girlfriends, see a great movie (Elizabeth!), listen to some music, and pick up an inspirational book. All those little things add up to lifetime of positivity. :)