Today being International Women's Day, I struggled with the right way to honor the day. This is my third attempt at writing this post. I wrote about the power of women, the necessity of women being strong in the workforce and at home, and I even wrote about what it means to me to be a women in today's society.
Yet, none of that felt right. This year's International Women's Day theme is Inspiring Change. After thinking about it some more, International Women's Day - for me - was an opportunity to honor the strongest, bravest, most significant women in my life. They are mentors, inspirations and friends. They have taught me what it means to give of myself to my community, how to be a strong woman, how to care, and how to live a fuller life. They have changed me.
When I graduated college, I had the extreme fortune of landing one of the best jobs I've ever had. As the Outreach Coordinator for the Bronx River Project, I worked with amazing community organizers, nonprofit professionals, city planners, and many inspiring youth. There are three women who I worked with during that time who fundamentally changed how I viewed the world.
Alexie Torres-Fleming taught me how spirituality and justice go hand-in-hand and the importance of sharing what we can with our youth. While there are too many memories of Alexie, I'll never forget the joy I felt whenever we met at Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, seeing the passion and excitement in the youth, and feeling Alexie's calm strength. And while it took me several years to fully appreciate the lessons Alexie gently taught, I finally got it. When I discovered Unitarian Universalism, I found my spiritual home. And I realized that some of the beliefs inherent in most religions - at least the ones I gravitated towards - shared the same values I found in community organizing and empowerment-based social and environmental justice organizations. Thank you, Alexie.
Majora Carter taught me how to stand up and fight, and how to be a badass whenever necessary. Majora has become an international name, yet she never forgets to email me to see how I'm doing - even though I haven't seen in years. My absolute favorite memory of Majora was from the opening of part of the Bronx River Greenway at a formerly abandoned cement plant that has since been converted to a park. The night before the opening, a gate blocking entrance and exit to this particular section was locked and there were guards placed there. Majora simply said, "I don't care if I have to pick the lock myself, we're having this event." (We didn't.) But the very next day when we showed up, Major took aside all of the elected officials in attendance, and while I'll never know what exactly was said, I've never seen powerful men so terrified. She showed me how to stand up for myself and my community in a passionate, professional way. Thank you, Majora.
Resa Dimino joined the Bronx River Alliance and not surprisingly, after a short time she was my direct supervisor. Aside from being an awesome human being, Resa gave me the opportunity to network with people who would be important to my future career. Whether it was attending the Bronx Ball or taking me to meetings I probably had no business attending, she taught by doing. I learned how to develop a professional persona and how to be more than I was. She always pushed me and never stopped believing in me. Most importantly, she never let me believe less of myself. Thank you, Resa.
Robbin Moore is an extraordinary woman and yet another important woman in my life. Robbin did something wonderful - she held up a mirror to me and helped me see my flaws and how to work through them. She never believed that I was incapable of anything and held me to a higher standard. She also helped me develop a love and understanding of both local and international politics. She is a confidante and friend and she continues to inspire me. Thank you, Robbin.
Linda David is one of the best bosses I've ever had. From the day I started working for her, she treated me as an equal and never took my ridiculous ideas as a joke. She let me try some crazy ideas, some of which crashed and burned, but she never gave up on me and my drive to do as much as I could for the lupus community. And even more important, she tethered my balloon when I pushed myself too hard and was in danger of making myself burn out again and again. And I can't forget the way she included me in her family. I adore here two daughters, husbands and dogs. With Linda and her younger daughter, I ran my first marathon and half marathon. We trained together and I'm forever thankful for that push. Thank you, Linda.
I can't say enough about the next four women. They are my peers, my contemporaries, and they continue to inspire me every day. And I'm lucky enough to consider them my friends.
Jennifer Ziegler - for overcoming the odds again and again and being the best inspiration to kids and teens living with a chronic illness.
Gabby Trejo - The strongest, most passionate justice crusader I've ever met. She continues to awe me with her perseverance and tenacity.
Sandra Mintz - Sandy has one of the toughest jobs in the world and she makes it look easy. Being a nurse in a children's hospital, she could easily become cynical and jaded. But she has the biggest heart. She treats her patients like people and no matter what age they are, she works to have them be partners in their own health care.
Liz Morasso - Like Sandy, Liz dedicates her life helping teens become empowered partners in their own health care and lives. She has her daily challenges but she never lets that stop her from living life to the fullest.
Thank you for all you do and all you are.
No comments:
Post a Comment