I want
to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings*
When you were young, how did you picture your life would be? Were you going to be famous? Did Disney make you dream of a future love story? Were you going to save lives?
I've been thinking a lot lately about the direction our lives go in and why. The religious side of me wants to believe that everything happens for a reason, that every moment is planned. From our first breath to our last. Or is our life a more complicated version of a Choose Your Own Adventure story? Choose this job, go that way. Choose that college, take this road.
Today is International Women's Day. And I'll be honest, I wouldn't have known that if Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter didn't tell me. So, I looked it up. The first organized Women's Day Movement was in New York in 1909, and in 1977, the United Nations proclaimed March 8th as the UN day for women's rights. It is a day when all us ladies can stand together and support each other. Each year has a specific slogan or theme. One of the themes for 2016 was "One Day I Will..." and that stood out to me.
I believe that I can be anything I want to be. I can do anything I want to do. But sometimes the world gets in your way. Sometimes it's your own insecurities. It's times like these when you lean on the strong women in your life. I think its really inspiring when we can come together and stand up for one another. I think it is important to teach our daughters that they are bold and fierce. That one day she will...fill in the blank.
In thinking about this, I realized that whatever direction my life goes in, its up to me to show up and be present. To take the One Days and make them today. To always keep dreaming. Always keep fighting. And to thank the people in my life who have always told me I can, I will.
What's your One Day You Will?
Until Next Time,
Kelly
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
Excerpt from The Journey by Mary Oliver
*Excerpt from Starlings In Winter by Mary Oliver