My mom has always been huge on women being strong and independent because she had to be that way when she was younger. She was an army brat and moved around a lot and because she was living with a single mother at the time (her mom and dad divorced when she was very young), she kind of had to grow up on her own.
What Danna and my mother have in common is definitely their drive to not only be the best they can be, but also to make sure their children are doing their best as well. Because my mom did not have a lot when she was growing up, she pushes independence on me and always looks out for my best interests. She pushes me to do better, even when I don't feel confident in what I'm doing. I'm sure Danna, with two kids in high school, must do the same. She started out from very little and had to work her way up. She was dropped into college and had no idea where to begin but managed to survive and become successful anyway.
When I first read Danna's blog, I thought she would be self-absorbed and that she would spend the whole time bragging about her achievements. Although she did talk about herself the whole time, I think she did a really good job on focusing on the class as well and linking it to our study of "identity" and who we are. She answered all of our questions thoroughly and she made me feel better about the fact that I have no idea what I'm doing career wise in the future. I think she did an awesome job.
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Danna Walker reminded me of my mom, too. Although, I found more differences between her life and my mom's, but more similarities in their personalities, like you did. My mom does always push me to do the best I can in my life, but I think it is driven by the fact that she wants me to be able to experience she was not able to. Neither of my parents attended college, so my mom can't help me in the academic sense, but like Danna Walker, my mom is strong and able to make me feel better about myself. It's weird, that even though your mom, my mom, and Danna Walker all had different paths in lives, they are all still able to inspire us and help us out. I think it comes down to the innate motherhood trait, if there even is one. Hopefully, we can do the same thing if either of us ever have kids.
ReplyDeleteDanna Walker made me think of my mom in a really different way. Danna Walker's presentation made me think of how much my mom has inspired me, unlike Danna Walker. After her presentation, I found myself comparing and contrasting my mom and Dana Walker. The conclusion I reached is that both my mom and Danna Walker have accomplished similar things in their lives, but that my mom inspires me because she was not motivated by obligation or being a woman.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tonks. My mother also has her PhD, which she received after my older brother's birth. She doesn't teach, but she has her own private practice and is incredibly self-sufficient. I find her more of an inspiration than Dana, who has put a great emphasis on the fact the she "overcame" obstacles against her gender, and she is where she is and became who she is to prove people wrong. My mother's a psychologist because she wants to help people. In order to do that she needed her PhD and she got it. There was no whining about discrimination, she just worked really really hard and achieved it. I think that sends a better message.
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