Inspiration Behind the Inspired

Women developed the term 'imposter syndrome'. To me, women, always seemed a little like the chicken and the egg argument. Did they get there bc of men or other women or mostly on their own. Was it really merit or good personality? Is it true, many only get to those positions by being extra intelligent or more beautiful physically?  It is said there is a strong women behind every good man. These men are influenced by these women. What made these woman tolerable to them I wonder.

When I read the prompt, Dragon Beside Me, I wanted to write about the famous women anthropologists that influenced me, politicians, historical figures, writers, the actresses, the teachers, friends mom's, and my own mom, my sister, etc. Then it would be a story about those who inspired them and how they used it.

By the time a girl becomes a woman we are inured to these discussions. We are taught to champion other women, but we may find it hard to actually do this at times. Maybe it's because for every woman you hear about you know there are others as worthy, unknown, and possibly devalued by society. my mom was the first who inspired me. I honestly feel the day she passes on, is the day the world will stop. I won't understand how the world still turns and goes on, but barely anyone will be aware at what's lost.

By the time I reached adulthood my understanding of the world changed. My changed view gave me a profound astonishment for the stories of Harriet Tubman and others. People who could find nothing in life worth stopping for. People fighting for Justice, but also fighting against a distain for life. Those searching for a way to make it worth more.

Growing up I often looked up to men. Men were humorous, knowledgeable, and fun to be around. Females were guarded, tricky and judgy. many people lost their inspirational status over the years. I began to see that the men I liked the most, often were able to be so because they had help. The ability to gain a craft or become very intelligent takes the ability to sit and read or listen to things, to stay informed usually comes at a cost to those closest to an individual. Inspirational individuals are not always easy to be with or around. They may not be easy to measure up to either.

The people most inspiring are people probably never heard of. The woman, good at math, but maybe struggling to understand a math problem or measurement. The women trying recipes that maybe above her skill or kitchen equipment. The socially awkward, but still social. The one who loves reading, but can only claim to read parts of a book a year because she is busy with caring for her home or the one's she loves. The non-competitive because she saw it was hopeless long ago, but is confident in what she is. The one's who profoundly, randomly, understand humanity. The one's who try to work out a calling that may lead them nowhere, yet get up everyday and smile and do what they can despite feeling less than, sad, or tired. To believe luck has nothing to do with success is a mistake, but luck can't replace hard work and merit. Both are needed to become a person of inspiration.

There are aplenty of Swifties out there, many who love Jackie O, Marilyn Monroe, Sappho, Joan of Arc, Sacajawea, Queen Elizabeth, Marie Currie, Dorothy Lange, Eleanor Roosevelt, Billie Holiday, Ingrid Bergman, Katherine Hepburn, Flannery O'Connor, Aretha Franklin, Alice Coachman, Julia Child, Virgina Hall, Sally Kristen Ride, Margaret Mead, and Jane Goodall, Ellen MacArthur, Serena Williams etc, etc. All for great reasons. All these women, individually, could be enough inspiration. I try to incorporate these qualities, but in my own way. I wish there was one woman I could distinctly point to as my inspiration, but there is not.

I read once Margaret Wise Brown wished her whole life she could write more adult works, but children books were always what flowed out. I remember I loved reading this. She said children's books were all she could seem to make a living off of. She wanted to be taken more seriously as a writer and felt she never quite got there. Despite this, she still wrote. Her children's books have been a beloved part of many of our childhoods. Sometimes, it is about realizing what you can do instead of what you dream of doing that can help people around you and yourself the most.

It's how we incorporate our inspirations that matter. That's what all these individuals recognized and managed to do.