Fierce Women Move Mountains

Fierce is not a common word to describe me but when it took 18 years to finally complete a major achievement in my life, I am pretty sure fierce is an accurate word to describe it.

Fierce women move mountains and change history, sometimes for the world and sometimes just for themselves.

Growing up I wished for my birthday to be during school and it never happened. Then my senior year of college my birthday actually was during a school day. Yay me! Unfortunately there were no birthday candles or cupcakes to share with my classmates. College is not quite the same place for celebrating a birthday like in elementary school.

One moment can change your life forever. This I know.

I was just a passenger in a car on my twenty-second birthday when a car accident permanently changed my life.

Instead of graduating from college, I saw an endless amount of doctors, physical therapy, and lived life from a wheelchair.

I no longer recognized my new body or who I was. Everything I once knew had changed.

This was definitely not how I imagined my life to turn out. God clearly had other plans for me.

Three long years later I kicked the wheelchair to the curb yet my college degree seemed so far out of reach. Occasionally I would take one class and each was one more step toward my life’s goal.

Then, of course, life happened. Other dreams came true when I became a mother.

The diploma I longed for suddenly seemed just like a piece of paper when compared with the joy of raising two little children.

Then children grow.
Life changes once again.

When my first born child was beginning kindergarten the realization he would graduate from kindergarten before me was difficult.

I decided to finally finish what I started 18 years earlier and set out to graduate with my college degree of Bachelor of Arts in Education before he graduated from kindergarten.

It was a fierce and frightening move at the same time to return to school but I am so happy I did.

I never imagined I would graduated from college 18 years after I started with two little boys cheering me on. Truly it is one of my greatest achievements in my life and a moment I will treasure forever.

Wondering who graduate first? I did! Woo hoo!

Six months before my son graduated from kindergarten was when I received my college diploma. I walked at my graduation and even did it with honors even though I never, ever imagined both of those would happen.

When you see me showing my Sun Devil pride as an Arizona State University alumni, know it comes from deep gratitude and a place of strength I never knew I had. Looking back I can see now how fierce I was, but going through it at the time was filled with fear, doubt, pain, and uncertainty.

Fierce women move mountains.
It is never too late.
This I know.

What are you waiting for?

Go after what you want.
Grab hold of whatever it is that seems too far out of reach.

Be bold.
Be brave.
Be fierce.

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When the Clever Girls provided me with the opportunity to be part of the Traveling Blue Wig Project I knew I wanted to be a part of supporting them especially when they ask to “hear your stories of strength, bravery, and general kick-butt-ness” because a conversation starter about being fierce is so much fun to read and inspiring at the same time.

To read other stories of fierce women, just like me, follow #FierceFund and be sure to get your vote in to help select the $20,000 Clever Girls Collective Fierce Fund grant winner. Fierce women vote.