Women’s History Month: A Letter to My Daughter

Dear Megan,

It’s March 1, 2021, and as you know that marks the start of Women’s History Month. The myriad of contributions and unimaginable impact that women have had on the world throughout history should be celebrated, encouraged and modeled after. I often wonder what pieces of advice these women were given along the way.

Closer to home, I think about my own journey, and the life lessons I’ve learned over the years. What advice can I now give as a successful professional and experienced industry leader, as a way to pay it forward to the next generation of women striving to make their mark?

Megan, I know what you might be thinking, “Oh great, a lecture from Mom.” This is definitely not a lecture. I leave those to your professors now. As you are starting this next phase of your life, I think about our relationship and the important advice that I’d like to give you and the many other women who will also make their mark on history.

While I’ll get to that advice, there’s important context that comes to life in our relationship that I think you should know, and that many others would benefit from. This is advice I wish I had been given, born through my own journey of being a lifetime learner, that I’d love to share with you and others who I hope will help benefit from my experiences.

When I think about our relationship, I’m reminded of a mentor I had that said they wouldn’t mentor me, but rather we would mentor each other. As much as I’ve tried to teach you in your 18 years, you’ve taught me just as much. You have an open heart that says “yes” to everything, you’re one of the most forgiving people I know, and somehow, you’re never bored.

Seeing your grace, humility, and faith in the face of the global pandemic has been nothing but inspiring. As a high school senior when the pandemic hit, many life milestones – such as prom, senior spring activities, and of course a graduation ceremony – were taken from you unexpectedly. While most people were angry, you rose above, simply figured it out, and kept chugging along, showing maturity and resiliency far beyond your years. Whether you knew it or not, during some of those most difficult first months, I looked to you as my mentor and inspiration to get through. 

Now it is my turn to be the mentor by sharing my three best pieces of advice for this next stage of your life – advice that the next generation as a whole should consider and embrace as they blaze their path forward.

Enjoy Every Age and Moment in Your Life

Never doubt that you are doing exactly what you should be doing right now. With your college career just taking off, it can be easy to become obsessed with what’s next. My best advice is – don’t get too far ahead and don’t beat yourself up. Focus on how you can make the most out of your current situation and achievements and it will naturally tee you up for future success. Be prepared, be confident and be yourself. When things go awry, just remember that everyone is human, and we all make mistakes. Enjoy and learn from them.

Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks

In life, you’ll find that the greatest achievements are born from great risks. Remember our stories of when your Dad and I moved to Germany before we had kids? We didn’t speak the language or have friends and family around to help us navigate even the simplest things like grocery shopping. Who thought a basic trip to the grocery store would be where we learned so much, about people, culture, how things worked in ‘everyday’ life in a new city?

And yet, that wonderful (and admittedly terrifying) experience taught me and your father a lot about facing adversity and how to overcome it. My best advice for taking on such risks – whether personal or professional – is to ask lots of questions, be open-minded, observant, listen (really listen), and always embrace the life-long learner that you are. 

Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is one of the best things you can do for your personal or career development. Once you open yourself up to “I’ll try anything” the world becomes your oyster.

Trust Your Instincts

Self-awareness and a strong moral compass will serve you well throughout your life and career. For example, after your father and I came back from Germany, I had a strong desire to take my career to the next level by getting my master’s degree. I recognized that being back in the U.S. meant our family was in a better position with support where I could take the time to pursue my degree. I approached your father with the idea and we had an open and honest discussion about how we could make it happen. If I hadn’t followed my instincts, I may not have advanced my career to where it is today.

The important piece about trusting your instincts is what happens after you recognize them and decide to act. Similar to consulting your father, my advice for you is to be open and honest about what you want, or about something you believe is wrong.

As we celebrate incredible women this month, I can’t help but think of someone else I’ve always admired, that I hope you find inspiration from too – Mother Teresa. I’ll leave you by paraphrasing this popular quote from her:

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” – Mother Teresa

Love,

Mom