In honor of Women’s History Month, I wanted to highlight the women who have made a positive impact on my life. In many shapes and forms, these women have supported me and helped me change and grow for the better. From the women in my family, the girls in my friend group, to the teachers and supervisors who have helped me bloom.
“I always believed that one woman’s success can only help another woman’s success.”
– Gloria Vanderbilt
My Mom
The first woman I want to highlight is my mother. My mom and I get closer and closer as the years go by. Ever since I was a child, she was always there to support me whether it was taking me to my softball games or helping me with a project at midnight. If I’m having a bad day, she always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better. She has always been my #1 supporter and truly wants me to reach my goals. I know that when I need to rant or talk about my passions, she genuinely cares about what I have to say. Not only does she listen to me, but I get to listen to her. I love hearing about her stories from work as well as hearing about her interests and goals in life. I love that I am an outlet for her to go to when she is having a bad day like how she is for me. I wouldn’t know what to do without my mom and I’m proud to say that I’m her daughter.
My Grandma
Another woman from my family I want to highlight is my grandma. Similar to my mom, she is always someone I can go to when I am having a hard time. My grandma is a medium and is very invested in things like crystals, tarot card readings, and talking to passed loved ones. She has taught me a lot about mind and body connection. I have had mental health problems in the past and her spirituality was helpful when I needed to be comforted. She would read my cards and give me a sense of direction for what I needed to look forward to in the future. She reminds me that our mindset has a huge impact on how we get through life and that it’s important to be positive. She passed these ideals down to my mom, and they passed it down to me. This has given us a big way to connect and every time we see each other, we’re ready to have a deep and meaningful conversation. Like my mom, I’m so glad she can be a strong role model in my life.
My Friends
For me, college has not been easy, but the friends I’ve made along the way have drastically improved my life. Freshman year, I lived with three other girls and they were very important in shaping my Chico experience. They were the first people to see what my life was like without my parents. Whenever I felt homesick, we would find fun things to do and it instantly made my day better. COVID-19 made our experience a bit different but we were all there to help each other navigate this new chapter in our lives. We got close instantly and those girls have continued to stay in my friend group throughout college.
Sophomore year, four new girls entered our group. Two of them were my new roommates and the other two we had met through staying in the same apartment complex. Funnily enough, the two girls who weren’t my roommates were actually from my hometown but we never met until college. Each girl that was added fit perfectly as if we were puzzle pieces just waiting to be connected. Each of us are very similar, but we also have many unique qualities that add a fun twist to our dynamic. During college, I’ve been through hard times mentally but they were there to help me through it. Even though my actions could be frustrating, they were there to tell me when I was doing something wrong and genuinely cared enough to help me get better. Without them, I probably wouldn’t have changed for the better. As college has continued, we’ve become a unit. Every time we do something, we have to do it together. I’ve never felt more loved and supported by a group of women in my life. We’re seniors now and the idea of us leaving is sad, but I’m confident we will stay friends. I am proud to call these girls my friends and I’m very excited to see what their future holds.Â
My internship supervisor
The next person I want to discuss in this article is my supervisor for my internship. I do outreach for the Chico State Counseling Center and have the best supervisor. For our job, we have to do things like creating workshops for Chico State students to attend, creating flyers/Instagram posts, and presenting on mental health topics. My supervisor gives us the outlet to be creative with our work. I love to create things and spread mental health awareness and I’m so grateful for this job opportunity. She also does a great job of being devil’s advocate. When creating projects, we need to have a place, time, and date all planned out. If we don’t have these things, she makes sure to check us. This gives us a great opportunity to be challenged and make sure we are remembering what we need. Whenever we have meetings, she is always ready to share stories and it is one of the things I always look forward to. She is very validating when it comes to our work and I never feel like I am being unrecognized for my accomplishments. This experience has made me feel like I made the right choice with my major and it’s all because of her. I am so grateful she has given me the opportunity to use what I have learned in school so far in a professional capacity.
My professor
The last person I want to write about is one of my professors for my child development minor. This professor does a great job of making the class enjoyable. Whenever we get to class, we share a rose, bud, or thorn which is a great way to connect with students. She will respond to your comments and show you that she cares to listen to what you have to say. You can tell she is passionate about her profession, which makes showing up to class worth it. She is always there to help when I am confused about an assignment or even to discuss my future career goals. She makes sure her students are well taken care of mentally and I’ve received great feedback from her which makes me want to continue to learn more. She also helps run the child development club and when she saw that I was there, she was happy to see me, which made me feel recognized as a student. Being with her inside and outside the classroom is always great and I look forward to seeing her. Her class allowed me to learn more about children, which led me to want a future career working with them. If it wasn’t for her teaching, I probably would have chosen a different career path, so I am so grateful she opened my mind to different fields of work.
