Tag: women wednesday

Woman Wednesday: Christine

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Q and A with Christine, Boulder, Colorado

“When I did say ‘yes’ to trying something new and get out of my comfort zone, I almost always had a blast and was so proud that I accomplished something new.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I’m passionate about many things such as business, health, family, God, and helping people thrive by bringing them up and helping them see their potential that they have lost seeing. I currently am a project control analyst at Ball Aerospace, and I love my job so much. I get to work for an amazing company that provides crucial ideas, objects, and units that help keep our country safe from the ground up. As a young woman, starting my career at a place like Ball is empowering. I feel respected, I feel valued for all my opinions, I’m learning so many new things every day, and I get to use my passion for helping those around me by leading team meetings that remind everyone that even though we are working from home, we are a team and we are here for each other. I get to facilitate Q&A’s that the team have and haven’t voiced since working remotely has made people lose their voice that much more. By leading these team meetings, I help rebuild and restore our strength as a team, I get to build people back up and give them a place to vent all their worries, questions, and concerns, while also allowing them to have a place to speak their mind and say what’s working best for them and what they want to see happen in the future. From these meetings, management gets to hear from us all and everyone’s ideas, concerns, and voices all get heard and people couldn’t be happier, which makes me so happy. I thrive knowing I’m helping others to thrive and feel confident too!

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: My younger years were amazing; I couldn’t of asked for a better childhood. I grew up in Boulder, Colorado, in a great area and apartment complex where all us kids would constantly play outside together, explore what nature had to offer, and we all felt safe even though there wasn’t always a parent watching over us all. I’m the youngest of two; I have an older brother and having him made me feel as though I got interested in what men liked too like sports, video games, and wrestling around with one another. I am very girly, but because of him, I also am a girl that doesn’t mind getting her knees dirty, playing videos games with my boyfriend, and watching sports. My mom was a stay at home mom when we both were very young. She cooked and cleaned the house daily, she took naps with us, and really just made the house so warm and loving. My dad owned a restaurant at the local mall that was down the street from our house and, because of that, we went to the mall often for the free food and the really fun arcade place they had there. Having the freedom to be around so many kids in my community and then being able to run around the mall knowing everyone knew my brother and I (that we were my dad’s kids), they all would watch over us and we always felt so safe and a huge sense of community.

There is truly nothing better than being exposed to a diverse group of people at such young ages. It helped us understand other cultures. I grew up as both Christian and Catholic. God has always been at the forefront of my life. I have a big heart, and growing up with my dad owning a restaurant, whenever other kids from my school or neighborhood were hungry, my brother and I would take them to eat at my dad’s restaurant and my dad was always more than happy to feed anyone for free that needed the help. I learned how to give and help others in their time of need at a young age. My dad was always helping anyone out that truly needed it. God has always placed me where I needed to be in order to help the people He needed me to help and in order to thrive in areas He needed me to thrive in. Being able to help people and to motivate them and spread positivity in this world has always brought me so much pleasure, and I know that that comes from my religion and love for God and the love He has placed in me and the compassion and love He gave me for other people.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: Something valuable I’ve learned that I want others to know is that life is too short. As we’ve all heard this many times in our life, it’s true. I blew off group gatherings before because I was tired or wasn’t in the mood that night. I’ve wasted some opportunities to go out and try new things because I was nervous to do so or too scared, and I’ve said no to potential job opportunities because I wasn’t sure if it was for me. We’ve all done things like that, and what I’ve learned was when I did say ‘yes’ and push through to go out with friends even though I was so tired, I almost always ended up having such a great time. When I did say ‘yes’ to trying something new and get out of my comfort zone, I almost always had a blast and was so proud that I accomplished something new. And when I did allow a random job opportunity to come into my life, it didn’t always work out, but sometimes, even if I left with just meeting inspiring and wonderful people, that was worth it to me. Life is too short to be unhappy, to over stress, to worry and be anxious. We don’t truly take advantage of every day, every minute, and every waking breath we are given by God. We need to let go of the nonsense, worry and stress less, get rid of toxic people and habits in our lives, and learn to take advantage of our everyday gifts of life. Meet new people, try new things, say ‘yes’ to the chances you do have to hang with the people you love, put yourself out there every once and a while, and don’t waste your life. You never want to look back and say, “I wish I did that, I wish I said yes, I wish I could hang with that person just one more time, etc.” You want to know that you lived a good life, made your mistakes, but came back stronger every time and really love that life you are living with the right people in your life and the right career. Life is too short, be happy, love hard, giggle as loud as you want, and eat that piece of cake!

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: Feminism means a few things to me. It means equal pay and equal rights amongst men and women, but it’s also more than that. When females come together and build each other up instead of tear each other down, I love that. I love seeing women who feel weak be empowered by other women, have their crown readjusted and put back together by other women helping them and rebuilding them to be the strong, confident queens. I hate seeing women tear each other apart through their own insecurities. When we come together, help each other out, build each other’s confidences back up, and stay strong together, we are one heck of a tight force that no one can then mess with. Empowering each other, inspiring and motivating one another, and pushing each other further than our comfort zone makes my heart full and that to me is what feminism should be all about.

Q: Is there anything else you want to tell readers?

A: I want to thank Samantha for reaching out to me and giving me this opportunity to be a part of this wonderful website. When she did that, it reiterated how I love when people are so kind to one an another and when you can inspire people you don’t even know is watching. I love inspiring people for the positive and knowing I somehow did that to her by posting my usual posts, that felt amazing. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this!

Thank you for reading!


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Woman Wednesday: Lynda

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Q and A with Lynda, Long Island, NY

“I feel we live in a world where people have become very egocentric, not necessarily because we want to be, but because social media feeds into it and says it’s okay.”

“As a child in elementary school, my mother was told I would never go to college because I wasn’t smart enough.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I am passionate about so many things. Besides being passionate about being a Christian woman of faith, wife for 24 years to the love of my life, and mom of three pretty great kids, I have always loved my 20+ year career as a speech language pathologist.

In my field, I feel rewarded when I can help improve the communication skills of others to help them succeed in whatever situation they find themselves. Be it interviews, customer service, presentations, conflicts, leadership skills, or personal relationships, we all need to be able to communicate our best selves in each situation and more.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I grew up on Long Island in a family that embodied both the Italian and Jewish cultures. Growing up was always about food and family and getting together with extended relatives whenever humanly possible. Yes, it was always loud with many people speaking at the same time! I also come from a family of 3 electricians that believe in hard work to get any job done. Heck, I could have been an electrician if I wanted. Growing up in not only a tight-knit family, but also a Christian home, is the basis of how I formed my strength in my family, faith, and wanting to help people.

As a child in elementary school, my mother was told I would never go to college because I wasn’t smart enough. I always struggled with reading, so I guess that’s how they made that determination. Something I always found joy in was singing…so much so that I took private lessons, sang in many groups and, proving the elementary schools wrong, was a vocal performance major in college. In my sophomore year of college, I was introduced to speech pathology by a professor teaching phonetics. She opened up a whole new world to me that I didn’t even know existed. While I loved singing, I disliked the competitive cutthroat nature of it all. When I realized many singers required speech pathologists to help with their vocal health, that was it, this is what I wanted to do.

While in graduate school, I worked with elementary school children as a speech therapist within the Florida school system. During that time, I found that I enjoyed helping children succeed with their speech and language skills, giving them the tools they needed to communicate with others to help them be social, interactive, and connect with their peers and adults. After receiving my master’s degree in 1998, I moved back to NY as an ASHA and NY state certified speech pathologist working with preschool/elementary level children.

Years later, I began working with teenagers and young adults who were also diagnosed as needing to improve their communication skills. I loved working with them even more. I saw how obtaining the communication skills improved every area of their lives, especially when it came to their work situations where these skills were imperative to their success outside the classroom.

Fast forward 10 years, 3 kids, and the explosion of technology and social media…I found that it wasn’t just my students who were diagnosed that required help with their communication skills; it was everyone all around me! From my children’s friends to the salesperson at the car dealership, from the cashier at the fast food restaurants to the hostess at an expensive steakhouse where you spend $500 for a dinner; they all exhibited difficulty with communicating in a way that acknowledged the people around them. I thought I was the only one who thought communication skills had become a bigger problem and that social media had desensitized people on how to understand and use interpersonal communication skills. Then, there it was on the news; something that confirmed and validated everything I was thinking and feeling, LinkedIn had completed a study identifying communication skills as the #1 skills gap in the work environment across America. It was clear that people were no longer aware of how important these skills are in order to succeed professionally and personally. It was clear I was onto something and knew, with my skills as a speech pathologist, I had to help others improve the art of great communication skills.

I decided to work on developing specific classes targeting communication skills and situations where you would need to have great communication for a specific purpose. I pitched my classes to a professional development administrator of a local college and they contracted me to instruct my classes to staff (administrators and professors) monthly for approximately a year. This propelled my husband to push me to open my own business, Antonetti Communications & Speech Consulting, PLLC. I now go to post-secondary trade schools to help them prepare for interviews, communicating with bosses, coworkers, and customers. To bring it full circle, my husband, who is in the electrical industry, had a connection with a trade school called the Electrical Training Center. They became my first trade school client and I have now been working with them for approximately 2 years. I have also worked at a few medical trade schools and have provided one-on-one coaching to help prepare for interviews. Additionally, I host a weekly podcast called “The Digital Divide,” where I record short episodes that provide communication tips. Currently, given the new world we live in, I am working on an online course to make it accessible to everyone.

While I continue to work part-time with my students who have been diagnosed with a deficit in their communication skills, I am excited about building my business. I want to build help and inspire those who want to transform their communication skills so they may be successful in all facets of life.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: I feel we live in a world where people have become very egocentric, not necessarily because we want to be, but because social media feeds into it and says it’s okay. I want people to have the ability to truly connect with one another by being present when with others, having the ability to relate, built trust, have empathy, have compassion, and being able to genuinely listen to one another without judgement. I could go on and on about all the things I would love to help improve, but ultimately, it’s about being able to build long lasting trusting relationships, be that professionally or personally. For me, the key to that is by embodying the understanding and use of effective communication while keeping the other person in mind.

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: To me, it means that, as a woman, I have the opportunity to succeed professionally and personally without oppression or judgment from others based on my gender. It means that I am given the same opportunities and am respected, not because I am a woman, because I am able to the job just as well or better than the next guy.

Thank you for reading!

I’d love to connect with you! Click the links below:

My Website

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Woman Wednesday: Ramona

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*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.              

Q and A with Ramona, Bucharest, Romania

“Art can give us strength to carry on, courage to push through.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I am passionate about empowering, uplifting, and bringing joy into people’s lives through art. During the lockdown, I started a series of paintings called Urban Queen. Initially, I gave up my studio and planned to relax at home for a month or so. I was planning to do all the things I never have time to do like reorganize my wardrobe, read, and drink cocktails on my terrace. It didn’t last long. One day I read an article in Forbes magazine about the 7 women head of states and how they dealt with the pandemic. I started thinking about all the women in lockdown, all the unsung heroes, and the women who are leaders in their own way, whether it’s in their home or in their community. I had an urge to paint these women, so I set up a home studio and ended up working 12-hour days for 2 months straight. I took over the living room, and my family got used to fending for themselves.

Through my paintings, I want to bring every woman into the spotlight who runs her household, raises her children, puts up with her boss, looks after her health, and shows the strength and courage in her everyday life. I started sharing my art online and the response I had from women all over the world was incredible. Art has the power to move people at a very deep level and women connected with the paintings in a way I didn’t expect. I had hundreds of messages from women telling me what these paintings mean to them and how they make them feel. Stronger, powerful, self-confident.

A deeply moving experience was talking with Kristen, a nurse on the front lines in San Francisco. She was working crazy hours, doing loads of overtime when the hospital needed her, only taking breaks and resting in her car when she was on call. We messaged each other and spoke a lot. She told me, “I’m scared, inspired, and empowered raising girls during this time! These paintings spoke to me on such a deep level as a nurse on the front lines and mother of two daughters. Seriously, these paintings blew my mind on so many levels.” This expresses what I paint for: the power of art to lift our souls. It reminds us that we are magnificent beings capable of doing so much good in the world. Art can give us strength to carry on, courage to push through.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I grew up in a totalitarian communist regime where ‘freedom’ was nonexistent and food shortages, fear, and persecution was part of the daily life. I hated the system that imprisoned my grandfather, I hated the fact that everything was grey. When I was about 12, I saw a book on Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel. I was so moved by the art, the colors, the beauty that I decided there and then that if I can get out of the country, I would leave and never come back. That chance came when I was 18 years old, so armed with big dreams and a bag full of clothes, I made it to London, UK, all by myself.


I wanted to finish my education, so I was going to college during the day and working evenings and weekends. It was then when I discovered painting. I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. I would stay up really late at night to finish my paintings assignments. However, the mentality I grew up with was that of the ‘starving artist,’ so instead I pursued a career in fashion where I thought, worst case scenario, I can get a job as a seamstress. Instead, at the age of 25, I opened my business, a fashion label that expanded rapidly selling in 300 boutiques all over the UK.
Time passed, I fell in love, got married, and had our daughter. In 2009, my family and I moved back to my native Romania. This was now a totally different country I didn’t recognize.


Liberated from communist regime, the country was flourishing and exciting. I started an interior design business that made six figures in the first year. Still, painting was something I was called to do all my life, so I started painting again, at night time and during the weekends. In 2013, I was invited to exhibit in Miami, during the famous Art Basel. That was all I needed to get me to pursue my long life dream. Shortly after I walked into my office and told all my staff that I would be closing the business in order to pursue a career as an artist. I was 40 years old! It was a bold, crazy move and what followed was a few years of really hard work. As a self-taught artist, I made a point on working extra hard on my technique as well as finding my artistic voice. And still, I didn’t feel “worthy” unless my art was validated by the “art establishment.” When my family and I moved back to the UK in 2018, I got the validation I thought I needed by working with some well established art galleries, exhibiting in central London, selling my art to important collectors.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: Life is about constantly learning, growing, and evolving. Painting the Urban Queen series has taught me my latest lesson: I don’t need the art establishment to validate me or my art. I am a queen and I wear my crown with pride. At the same time, my biggest lesson that I’ve learned is that “I am on Purpose.” I have been searching for purpose, for the best part of my life, and asked myself many times, “How can I live on purpose?” I think Urban Queen has provided me with the answer. When you are passionate about what you do AND you serve others, you are living with purpose.

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: Feminism is reestablishing the balance between feminine and masculine. It’s recognizing and honoring our differences. It’s understanding that vulnerability, sensitivity, intuition, creativity, and nurturing are very important qualities the world needs. They are not weakness as we were raised to believe. We don’t need to be like men. We need to connect to our own inner feminine qualities and lead from there.

Q: Would you like readers to know anything else?

A: I would say honor yourself. Women are used to doing everything for everyone else first, and we leave ourselves last. I am also guilty of that sometimes, and it’s something I’m still working on. To me, honoring yourself means working on your mindset, learning to appreciate what’s important in life, being grateful, being inspired, treating yourself, and most importantly, loving yourself. Find the Queen within!

Thank you for reading!

I’d love to connect with you!

Website: https://ramonapintea.com/

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Woman Wednesday: Elizabeth

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*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.              

Q and A with Elizabeth, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

“Your passion isn’t always obvious.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I’m passionate about so many things, but my main one these days is writing. When I was a young girl around 10 years old, I remember using a child-size blue typewriter and writing a short story. I found it a few years ago, and it wasn’t half bad! I’d like to pick it up and finish it one of these days. While I raised my children, writing fell off to the side as there was no time or energy to do it, but now that they are 12 and 14 years old, I have the time to dedicate myself to it again. As a result, I’ve started three businesses that revolve around writing—a mom lifestyle blog, a handmade business, where I knit and crochet character hats and write children’s books to tell each character’s story, as well as a marketing business, where I specialize in content writing for other businesses, specifically newsletters, blog posts, social media, and WordPress website content writing and SEO.

 

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Q: What were your younger years like?

A: My paternal grandmother was an avid reader and life-long-learner and she shared that with me. She also encouraged me to pursue an English degree in university, and I’m so glad that I did because I feel it has helped me be a better communicator. This skill has been used in all my endeavors.
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Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: Something valuable I’ve learned is that your passion isn’t always obvious. It took me quite a while working on my business before I woke up one morning with a lightbulb moment that I love writing.

 

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Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: To me, feminism means equal opportunity, respect, compensation for work, and [treatment] as a person in general regardless of gender. 

 

Thank you for reading!

I’d love to connect with you!

Elizabeth Ruth Marketing, Facebook 

Mom Lifestyle Blog

Ruthless Crafter


Thoughts, questions, or comments?

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Woman Wednesday: Olivia

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*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.              

Q and A with Olivia, from Charleston, SC, living in St Louis, MO

“You will always have a problem if you look for one.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I am most passionate about people and natural disasters. I love helping women come out of their shells and become the person they want to be.

My obsession with natural disasters came after I lost 80% of my possessions in Hurricane Michael, Panama City Florida, October 10th, 2018. In December of 2018, I partnered with a close friend and helped with the #ComeBackStrongProject. We hosted the event at a local mall in Panama City. We gave toys and supplies to those in need at the event. It was a kick start to my humanitarian efforts. 


In February of 2020, I volunteered in the Bahamas to help with the hurricane Dorian relief efforts with the organization All Hands and Hearts. I plan on volunteering every year going forward. I am also writing a hurricane survival guide for tips and supplies after the storm. 

 

IMG_20200220_112549Olivia has lived in a lot of places; her husband is in the Air Force. She’s lived in Charleston, South Carolina; Panama City, Florida; Atlanta, GA; and St Louis, MO. But her favorite place is wherever she is helping rebuild communities after natural disasters.

 

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I was born a Buddhist in South Carolina. My mother was born Catholic and converted before I was born. My father was an atheist. His parents were Jehovah’s witnesses. Needless to say, I have much respect for people with different religious views. 
We were not wealthy by any means. We always had the cheapest house in the best school district. My mother and father were very big in our education. Despite the lack of funding, my parents always found ways to share life’s experiences with us. We went on vacations and tried a variety of foods. 
My father was addicted to drugs, and my parents divorced when I was 8. A little about my family dynamics. My mother was 35 when she had me, and I’m the oldest of 3. She didn’t have children in her first marriage. My father was also married previously, but did not have any other children. When my parents were first divorced, my mother went to college. She actually got her double masters while being a single mother of 3 with minimal family help. (That is part of the reason I have the drive that I do. I honestly feel extremely privileged to be able to build my dreams without the same obstacles she had.)   

 

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I started working when I was 15. My father moved back into the house when I was 16 for two years to help my mother co-parent. They weren’t together; they just loved us more than they disliked each other. They were actually friends “sometimes.” I did pageants and went to 6 proms and was relatively popular in my town and city. My dad moved out when I was 18, and I moved in with him when I got out of high school. My father passed away when I was 20, and I paid for his funeral. I was also in an abusive relationship at that time. 
I did a lot and learned a lot on a little, but it is definitely a part of what made me the woman I am today. 
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Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: Never give up. No matter how hard it gets. You will always have a problem if you look for one. Your perception is your reality and sometimes you get in the way of your own growth.

 

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Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Equal treatment of men and women. I’m very textbook definition when it comes to this topic. My thoughts have developed over the years and I fear that women are losing touch with their individual power.

 

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Thank you for reading!

I’d love to connect with you!

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