There are two types of people in this world: the talkers and the doers. It aggravates me to no end when people act like they know what they are talking about and expect other people to hang off every word. I about lose my mind when I know a person is blowing smoke and is only good for empty intentions. It may be the Millennial in me that makes me feel this way, but in my book, words must always be backed by actions. Something about politics revs me up inside, and the injustices that arise within politics are the biggest triggers. For Margaret Chase Smith, she left a legacy and set a precedence that women had a place in politics. She was the first woman to serve in both the United States House of Representatives and Senate. That is not an easy feat for anyone, but her determination proved she belonged and could make action happen. The road for women to be able to make lasting contributions to history was not an easy one, and Margaret Chase Smith hit the nail on the head with her quote. I may hit a nerve with the next thing I am going to say. Sometimes people are more concerned with staying in the “good ole boys club” than standing up for the matters that truly matter in life. As I participated in a worldwide event, March for Our Lives, I thought about the people who made it possible for civil protests to take place and the rights that are worth fighting for. When half is on the opposing side, it could have been a good enough excuse to say that standing up was too hard and not worth the fight, but Saturday’s events proved that together, we are stronger. Politics is a hard business to win. People are often times in it for the wrong reasons, so for the few trailblazers in politics to make a stand and put up a good fight is empowering. It is okay to go against the grain and walk to the beat of our own drums when it comes to creating change. There are more important things in life than fitting in. Complicity is the downfall of our society. When it comes down to doing what is right and what is comfortable, I would hope we would always choose to do the right thing even when it is hard. We get one chance to impact the course of history, and we owe it to our future children and grandchildren to do whatever we can to make it a little bit better for them to live. Had it not been for Margaret Chase Smith and others like her, I may not have had the freedom or opportunity to use my voice and actions positively. The woman’s place is no longer just in the house waiting hand and foot on a man. Our place is in the House and Senate where we will be heard. Times have changed, and we are not going to sit back and watch a spiraling chain reaction. It is about time we become movers and shakers. While others sat, she persisted. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2018
0 Comments
It drives me crazy that there are career fields that are so-called dominated by gender over another. It should not matter who is doing a job as long as the job gets done and is done well. People are born with a special skill set, so those skills should be honored by encouraging whoever to follow the career path they seem the best fit for in life. Virginia Apgar’s name should sound familiar to most people. She is the woman who deserves many thanks. Virginia Apgar is the reason we have the Apgar score in hospitals today for newborns. Her passion and knowledge should have been enough to make her a surgeon, but a male superior said that was not her place in the medical field. She did not settle for just being a nurse. While nurses are essential and a valuable contribution to hospitals, Virginia wanted to do more and was capable of doing more, and it is not a job only women can do. To make a name for herself in the field, she designed a system of evaluation that could save many newborn lives. This simple scale changed the way babies were cared for in the first moments. This critical time made it imperative that evaluations were made quickly and efficiently. She left a lasting mark on medicine. Virginia could have been angry about being told she could not do what she wanted to do, but she took a different approach. The energy she could have used being angry was transformed to determination and used for good. When Virginia was told she could never be more than a nurse, she persisted. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2018 Nellie Bly. I do not know about anyone else, but I had to google who that was and what she did to leave her mark on women’s history. First, it is a shame that I did not know who Nellie Bly was to begin with, and second, I am upset that her story is not better known. Born as Elizabeth Jane Cochran, she had to fight her way to the career she wanted. Her education was interrupted because she had to work to help support her mother after her father died. Upset by the unequal representation of women, Nellie wrote a letter to the editor to a paper in Pittsburg and earned a job writing as a columnist. She gave herself the pen name, Nellie Bly. This new gig writing forced her into a rut of only addressing women’s topics and related issues. Nellie was not satisfied with this confinement of writing. She wanted more. And so, she began her quest to write bigger stories that included more than just women’s issues. A move to New York was her ticket to becoming the writer she wanted to become. Even in rejection to pursue the story she wanted, Nellie went above and beyond the request of a new editor. She faked her way into a mental institution to bring the inside scoop to the public and took a huge risk to make a name for herself. Her boldness validated her place in her field. Nellie Bly was not willing to set back and watch a man do the work she knew she was capable of producing. She became a leading journalist and set a precedence that women had a place in journalism. I appreciate her courage to become the writer she wanted to be; she made it possible for future generations of female journalists to write and report using their real identity. So, while Nellie Bly had to prove she had a place in a man’s working world, she persisted. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2018 Helen Keller’s story is near and dear to me. I remember reading a biography of her when I was in fourth grade, and I gained a new perspective on how people who seem to have apparent disabilities work to overcome them. Helen Keller could have given into the trajectory that people like her often accepted, but she was determined to prove them wrong and be bigger than her circumstances. With the help of Anne Sullivan, Helen learned to communicate and read through unique means. It took a great deal of patience and perseverance from the both of them to reach this achievement. Imagine living in a world of your own and having no idea what it looks and sounds like. It had to be challenging to learn about things Helen would never have the chance to see, nor ever hear the sounds of the things we take for granted every day. But, she did. Helen created a normal for herself and thrived. In her years of adulthood, Helen started being more than a girl who was blind, deaf, and mute. She became a maker of change. Her desire to learn proved to be an obstacle she would have to fight for and eventually would triumph. Helen Keller would go on to work for everything she ever received in life and paved the way for giving rights to those who were overlooked based on their inability to do something that the rest could do. Helen Keller advocated for herself; therein, advocating for others. From her story, we can learn that being different is okay, but more importantly, we learn that having a disability is only a disability if we let it hold us back. She taught us how to look at beyond the physical limitations and break the barriers set forth by society. In addition to that, Anne Sullivan showed us how to meet someone where they are and grow with them. None of this was easy, but it was needed. Now, we make accommodations, and they have rights. Sure, it was hard to navigate through a world that is dark and silent, but Helen Keller left a mark and an echo that can be seen and heard today. She found her voice that may have been inaudible to others, and when they were unwilling to listen, she persisted. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2018 |
Archives
July 2019
|