This September, it's all about the women who are #killingit in literature. We talk about our favorite female characters, why fanfictions are real books too, writing characters with disabilities, and discuss self-publishing. This issue is jam-packed...
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Wow! It's absolutely amazing what you can Google. While trying to find a gif of Alicia Keys, I found out there are several "the cold never bothered me anyway" images. Go figure. As I listen to one of my all time favorite "Girl Power" songs, I search more images in preparation for this month's article.
Listening to Alicia Keys belt out Girl on Fire from across the room on my smartphone, while playing in perfect synchronization on the Chromebook I borrowed from my daughter (weird how that magically happened), my fingers speed across the keyboard as I rock back and forward while tapping my toes in unison and tell myself for the millionth time, "No one can type like me." This is my zone... where I groove. If I was driving, I'd definitely get stopped. But, I'm more than certain I'd be able to write my way out of any ticket. Why? Because I know my strengths and I own my weaknesses. Kinda profound how that all came about, but nevertheless, I'm glad it did. Here's how:
Having spent the first week of August at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, I was taken away by the transformation that had taken place in the last 20 years. You see, at the tender age of 23, I was an intern at Disney's Hollywood Studios, formerly MGM Studios. To be able to return as a guest and take my children with me almost 20 years to the exact date I left was, to say the least, M*A*G*I*C*A*L.
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Now, at the age of 43, I can look back and reflect on those years. The season of wanting to be what everyone else required, to fit in instead of standing out, wanting to hide but too afraid to be covered up... to be left alone, but not necessarily by myself... Life is funny in that way. According to Soren Kierkegaard, it can be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. Thinking about it now, I completely understand and totally agree. For that reason, I try to share as much as I can with every young girl or woman who will listen. "Never let anyone else put their own insecurities off on you," I tell my 17-year-old. "Their weakness is not your issue, nor is their pain your burden to bear."
While that may sound cold to some, many will understand. Everyone has their own unique talents that make them who they are. Special is what that is, and special is who they are. There comes a time in everyone's life where choices must be made. Whether you chose to lose or dare to win, the choice is yours to make. When you know who you are, you will choose wisely.
