I hope everyone has a female role model in their daily lives. Mine is my mother. I know. It sounds overdone and something people say when they can't name anyone else. However, I've been blessed in life when it comes to being surrounded by encouraging and supportive women. My professors, my friends, my mentors—I have a very long list of brilliant women I've had the privilege to know. But my mother is the one I pick.
I acknowledge that there is a bias when I pick her amongst all the empowering women I know—I mean, I'm her daughter!
Hear me out, though, and let me try to explain why she's my role model and why it's so important to have one in our daily lives.
My mother is my role model, not because of all the good, kind, and beautiful things she is and does for me. She’s my role model because I have seen her fail, I have seen her make mistakes, and I have seen her not succeed due to faults of her own and sometimes others. Yet, she has never let those instances of ‘failure’ define her entire being, and that's why she's my role model.
I think it's so essential for us to have female role models who show us that failure is acceptable and part of life. Who shows us that being smart, talented, and kind are great attributes to have, but more than anything, we should have resilience. Women and young girls on their journeys of success feel like we have one shot at making our lives what we want. Failure seems unacceptable, and that is a very unreasonable burden we put on ourselves. Life happens to everyone.
Circumstances change, opportunities change, or they no longer exist. Sometimes there's nothing that we can do to make it work, and we need to have role models who show us that even if things don't always go as planned, that doesn't mean it's the end. We need to know that mistakes are more than acceptable; in fact, they should be welcomed so that we can grow from them.
My mother is my role model because she's taught me that more than brilliance, resilience is what will carry me through life. If we are resilient, we will never lose. I hope everyone can find role models that show them that being perfect, and at your 100% isn't what you need to do to make your life what you want—you just need to always be able to try again.