peace....as a female in the USA

"A woman is like a tea bag, you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water." Eleanor RooseveltLast night- I saw Zero Dark Thirty with my oldest son.  Brilliant & amazing movie.  The true life story of the female CIA agent who found Osama Bin Landen allowing the Navy Seals to go in and kill him.I don't want this to be my political addition advocating the killing of Bin Landen- though knowing he was the mastermind behind 911- killing one of my college roommates, I have no mercy on him.  Rather, my reflection is on the strong female heroine in the story, who changed the world.I don't consider myself to a feminist.  I don't like stereotype and politically I don't really fall into the traditional category with "feminists."  I don't have a lineage of strong females who have fought the system, or changed the course of history.  Rather, I grew up in a traditional Catholic family, with fairly conservative political leanings and ideology.  Still, inherently, I knew that I could achieve anything I wanted to with effort.  I was the first female to graduate from college in my family, moved across the country to volunteer with AIDS and cancer patients shortly after college (albeit short-lived) and was the first female (actually, the first person) to run a marathon.  I'm equally proud of all of my accomplishments.  Well, maybe I should've stayed volunteering in New Mexico a bit longer... sigh....Choices I made, who and what I decided to be had little to do with my gender and much more to do with my character from within.I would never make it in a country where female suppression is tolerated, accepted, and expected.  Never.  Watching the women live in the shadows of the men in society is inconceivable to me.  Being dependent.  Having no voice. Existing. I watch in astonishment for how that life exists in our world.Watching this movie, watching this woman in a male dominated industry, in a male dominant country truly "dominate" was awe-inspiring to me. She is brilliant, strong, confident, and unrelenting in her pursuit throughout the movie.  I left thinking of this famous quote.."Well behaved women rarely make history." Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.What if "Maya" hadn't joined the CIA, would Bin Landen still be out there?  What if Rosa Parks had been complacent in sitting in the back seat of the bus, would we still be living in a country that believes that the color of your skin makes you superior or inferior as a person?  What if women hadn't pushed for the right to vote?  Where would our country be?A friend of mine, Bethanie, gave me a plaque that reads "She was fearless and it showed.".....I look at it often as it sits above the desk where I type my blog.  I don't think of myself that way.  There are far too many days I feel weak, uncertain of my path, and weary.  I'm encouraged that she sees me that way, however.  It makes me smile...perhaps I am more "fearless" than I believe I am.  Focusing on that pushes me to do things when I don't think I can, challenges me when I don't know the answers, encourages me when I'm afraid.  We all need a friend like Bethanie to remind us that we are "braver than we believe, stronger than we seem, and smarter than we think." Winnie the Pooh.....To all the brave-strong- confident- beautiful women in the world....thank you for inspiring me.....Peace & Happy Tuesday.....