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Denise Oliver Velez, Family, Latinas, Parenting, Strong Women, Wisdom, Women of Color, Women's History Month

How Every Woman Contributes to Women’s History Month

Mona Alvarado Frazier

             Each time a girl opens a book and reads a womanless history, she learns she is worth less. – Myra Pollack Sadker

March is Women’s History Month. How we arrived to setting aside this month to highlight women’s contributions in history is a 34 year road. Longer if we consider that International Women’s Day began in 1911 in Europe.

The purpose of Women’s History Month is to increase consciousness and knowledge of women’s history: to take one month of the year to remember the contributions of notable women, in hopes that the day will soon come when it’s impossible to teach or learn history without remembering these contributions. 

Recognizing the achievements of women in all facets of life – science, community, government, literature, art, sports, medicine – has a huge impact on the development of self-respect and new opportunities for girls and young women.

Most of us who attended high school and college in the early 80’s until present or have children in school easily recognize some of the most notable achievements that are highlighted during this month.


But how do we, as ‘non-famous’ ordinary everyday men and women fit into women’s history?

In our own lives, we can make women’s histories personal. We have a huge resource in our own families. This month can be a time when we discover the stories about our own mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers. 
In turn we share our discoveries with our children so they can better understand their lives, the challenges they faced, and who they are as a result. We can easily start these conversations (okay, maybe there will be an eye roll or two when we start talking about grandma’s day) with our kids. And which kid doesn’t enjoy asking his/her parent about how life was without PC’s in every home or a cell phone. Recognizing the strength and accomplishments of women in our own families and those from other backgrounds leads to higher self-esteem among girls and greater respect among boys and men.
A multi-cultural perspective is also important to pass onto our children. 
An extensive selection of women in the military, Civil War, Science, and Politics can be found in the National Archives. An interesting article on  Native American women’s contributions in women’s history, written by Denise Oliver Velez, goes beyond Sacajawea. This article on five Latina contributions describes authors, activists, and artists. Huffington Post lists more achievements by Latinas. In the blog “Race Relations,” the entire month is devoted to remembering women of color.
I hope your children have WHM events in their schools. Take a few minutes to talk with them about what they’ve learned about women’s contributions. And sometime this week, sit down and tell them your own stories, your mother’s stories, or her mother’s stories. Let them hear about adversities, their values, and the triumphs of women who are important to them every day not just one month out of the year. 
Encouragement, Holly Lisle, Jeff Goins, Joe Konrath, Kristen Lamb, Rachelle Gardner, WANA, Writing

Open Your Medicine Cabinet to Write

Mona Alvarado Frazier

I’m sure you’ve heard the often quoted  proverb by Lao-Tzu: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” But what you may not have heard so often is the translation that results from the original Chinese quote:
                                 
                                             “The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.”  


Before the first step is the desire to move. All of that ‘would, could, should, if, want to, maybe,” ( insert a favorite stopper phrase) doesn’t do squat but leave our feet planted into the ground. Sure we make a little dust while we shuffle our feet to the litany of ‘if’s’ but when we look at our position, we’re are still in the same place. Sometimes we must find the desire to move and shake off the constant buzz of our family/work life.


The quote is analogous to writing. Oh, yes, how we want to write a novel, get an agent, get published, see our story enjoyed by thousands millions. But none of it will happen if we do the ‘woulda, coulda’ mambo instead of making ourselves sit in front of the blank page/screen and write. And do the same thing the next day, and the next, until we are finished with a first draft. And then guess what? We do it all again during rewriting/revision.
          
                                     “It is perfectly okay to write garbage-as long as you edit brilliantly.”~Molnair.
          
Writing is not for the faint of heart or for those who don’t want to fail. Writing until we get into print is for those who show up, fail, keep learning, rewrite, and move forward. I feel a ‘Hoo-Rah,” coming on.

But some days our cheering section of zero or one isn’t enough. There are times when we need some external encouragement, someone who has been there, to commiserate with us for one minute and then shove our behinds into the chair again. 


The problem is that we often don’t know when we’ll have one of those “I can’t do it anymore,” writing days. Something that works for me is preparation. I’ve assembled a personal medicine cabinet of writers and blogs filled with encouragement to face the stagnation and move forward. 
Some of my favorites are: 


When facing anxiety go to Writer’s First Aid for several posts on whatever ails you.


Some invigorating advice about persistently writing comes from JA Konrath’s post “Writing Matters,” and Holly Lisle’s blog on “Live to Write Another Day.” 


Someone who often says that writing is a lonely business and has built a community of writers is Kristen Lamb: We Are Not Alone. She introduced me to Twitter and the WANA concept. 


For optimism and insight there are few more encouraging blogs than Literary Agent Rachelle Gardner’s encouragement section. 


And to remind oneself of why we write is the ever inspirational Jeff Goins. 


Last but not least, just different, is visiting my Pinterest boards. I don’t have to read, just gaze  at the photos until I feel my fingers jumpstart.


There are more blogs I could mention, but you get the idea. 


What do you have in your own writer’s medicine cabinet? I’m looking for a humor pill (blog) to fill another spot. Suggestions are welcomed.