Let’s Get Personal: Women Who Inspire Me (It’s #IWD2016!)

Image: Brandilynn Aines

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged since Thursday – I am sorry guys! Submissions have been a bit light (photogs, vendors, and recently married peeps, where you at?!) and life has gotten in the way (doesn’t it always?), but I wanted to share a post today in support of the fact that it’s International Women’s Day. Now while a part of me wants to sit here and rant about all the travesties that women still face in this world (unequal pay, rampant sexism, the lack of access to healthcare, paid maternity leave … and oh the list goes on), the better half of my brain took over and thought it’d make a much better and inspiring post to blog about women who inspire me today.

So there they are – the top 3 ladies in that picture above, are the most inspiring women in my life. And if you are thinking they look familiar, it’s because they’re actually my mother and two sisters. So let’s start with my mom.

When you become a parent, your view on your own parents changes DRASTICALLY (in a good way!). I always knew my mom was the best, and I thought I had recognized the sacrifices she had taken in life to be a mother of four, but I really didn’t understand until becoming a mother myself, recently. This woman is strong. She raised four kids (FOUR!). She stayed home and did the rockstar stay-at-home mom game for half of us, then went back to work (and still works) to help put us all through college. She has been an amazing writer for as long as I can imagine, and I’d like to think I get my rad blogging skills from her. She wrote a children’s book (you can buy it on Amazon – it’s awesome!) and travels to schools to use her book to teach children about kindness and inclusion. Talk about a rockstar, right? My mom has taught us so much and as a speech pathologist, she teaches children at a public school in NJ. Teachers have to be some of the most undervalued people in our society and I will never understand why. To me, they are some of the most important, and that is why my mom is one of the most inspiring women in my life.

So let’s move along the picture to the next fabulous #ladyboss in my life. That would be my older sister Jill. Along with all the life lessons you get from having an older sister, my sister has always been an inspiration to me because she is probably one of the MOST determined people I’ve ever met. I’ve never watched someone other than my sister work SO HARD to accomplish what they wanted. Whether it was striving to get straight As growing up, or her determination to obtain a MFA in Directing, or her daily work to advance the craft of theatre directing through a service organization she founded (and currently is the Exectuive Director of), Directors Gathering. Oh yeah, she does this all while being a kickass wife & mother to that adorable Stella up in that picture too. Yup, inspiring.

And finally, my younger sister Kristen. Kristen’s ability to persevere has always inspired me. She has faced many challenges in her life, but has always pushed through, including the ardous journey she took (and completed!) to become a RN. Next to Teachers, Nurses have to be one of the most selfless professions in the world. Unless you know a Nurse, you can’t possibly begin to understand what they go through at their jobs (12 hour shifts, where she is often unable to sit, eat, or even take a bathroom break!). I listen to her stories with my jaw on the floor – of the patients that take her for granted, of the thankless hours spent cleaning up after people, of the Drs who aren’t always the kindest, of the family members who cry on her shoulder, thanking her for helping their loved one. I just cannot believe she does this every day! She is a TRUE rockstar.

So those are my lady inspirations for #IWD2016. Who are yours?!

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