One of my favorite shows when I was a young girl was Gilligan's Island. I loved the "exotic" location filled with sand and sea water. A place that was always warm. And my most favorite character of all was Ginger. She was so pretty. Her clothing was gorgeous and never got dirty. In fact, she probably inspired my love of animal prints ;) She could sing. She had a small mole on her face that was fascinating to me for reasons unknown. And, if truth be told-- she was overly dramatic and I loved it! In fact, I was so enamored of her and the show that I made all my little friends spend countless hours re-enacting scenes from the program. I, of course, always played Ginger (which is a riot considering I couldn't keep my clothes clean to save my life and I really didn't like wearing dresses all that much). And, We always re-enacted the show where I was saved from quicksand, and by quicksand, I mean a brown blanket thrown on the floor. So, Ginger was probably my first "girl" heroine. Hmm....
"Keep calm and remember you're Wonder Woman."
My next heroine was Wonder Woman. She was funny and super strong. As strong as most men. She had the lasso of truth-- which was way cool. And, Her bracelets were more than stunning accessories, they were defensive weapons. Best of all was the invisible plane (which now that I think about it, didn't help her that much since you could see through it and see her). Whatever. She fought injustice and looked cool while doing so. I should probably apologize now to my brother and any of my friends who were forced to endure my version of the lasso. Also, apologies to anyone I hit with my headband while throwing it like Wonder Woman threw hers. Hopefully I didn't leave a scar.
Probably my last childhood heroine was the Bionic Woman. Now she was cool. She was a courageous woman who overcame a life-threatening accident. You see, she didn't have just any accident, it was a sky diving accident. Sky diving was probably the most daring thing I could think of someone doing at that time. Part machine, she could outrun anyone (with very cool sound effects). She had this amazing bionic ear that allowed her to listen in on conversations. I so wanted that bionic ear, especailly when adults were having whispered conversations in the next room. Her day job was as a high school teacher, but her real job was as a spy. Ooooohhhhh awwwwww
Being Normal is overrated.
These three examples all have one thing in common. They weren't what we would consider "normal." Ginger was more beautiful, more talented than a so called "normal" girl. Wonder Woman was a super hero, and the Bionic Woman was made better because of mechanics. None of them would fall into the category of a conventional woman.
What I find interesting is that as I grew older I began to strive to be what would be termed "normal" and learned to shun anything that would stand out as different. The goal was to blend. You wanted to make sure that you wore the same clothing as others (and this was in the 80's-- the clothing was interesting to say the least), listened to the same music, liked the same icons, and watched the same movies.
"If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be."
Here's the deal, even as an adult there is often pressure to conform. And sometimes that leads us to the point where we suppress the parts of ourselves that make us different and unique. Maybe we don't do what makes us happy because it isn't considered "normal." Or we feel like we have to defend our decisions to others because we are being criticized for being different.
"You are living your story."
Very often we forget that it's our story to write, not someone else's. You should,
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right for you'll be criticized anyway."
Your gifts and talents are probably different than someone else's. That's ok. Just because your gifts are different, doesn't mean they are wrong. Make your decisions based on what works for your life and your family, not based on what someone else thinks you should do. They do not have to live with those decisions, you do.
"What screws us up most in life is the picture in our head of how it is supposed to be."
We waste so much time trying to figure out how to make our lives match up to someone else's ideal that we forget to consider what would make life ideal for us. Have children, don't have children. Have one child, have more than one child. Work outside the home, don't work outside the home. These are but just a few of the endless decisions you face. And everyone will have an opinion as to what the right choice is. Like they have some secret formula for a successful and happy life, if only you follow their plan. I like this definition of success by Maya Angelou:
"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."
The older I get, the less I base my choices on the opinions of others. Now, don't get me wrong, I still seek advice from people I trust, and I find great wisdom and value in that. However, I do not set the whole balance of my decision making based on whether or not I have someone else's approval. I pray about it, I do research if I can, I discuss it with those closest to me, and then I move on. I am not striving to be normal, I'm striving to be true to me. I encourage you to do the same. Be the hero or your own life. Don't make decisions based on what everyone else thinks you should be doing. Pray about. Ask God to give you the wisdom to make the best choice for you and your family. Don't be afraid to explore and use the talents you are given. Be proud of the talents and gifts you have. They are not less than someone else's talent, just different than their talent.
"My biggest influences are strong, creative women that chart their own path, lead their own lives, and drive the course of history."
Now, having said all that, I still have heroes that I look up to. Some of them are probably not what you would conventionally call heroes, but there is something unique and different about them that I admire. They consist of people, well known and not so well known, that posses a character trait or talent that I am drawn to.
And, if truth be known, I'm still in love with Wonder Woman's lasso of truth. I can think of countless situations where that lasso would come in handy. And, I would love to have the Bionic Woman sound effects to follow me around when I am working in the house to make my chores feel extra special. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to have Ginger's wardrobe ;)
With that, we recently went to D.C. and had an opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetery. Therein lie some of the biggest heroes and heroines of our nation. I'll leave you with a few photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment