“Here’s to strong women: may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.”
That quote has been on my bedroom mirror for years. I don’t read it as a slogan, it’s more of a reminder. On the days when things feel uncertain or overwhelming, it brings me back to the kind of woman I’m trying to be and the example I want to set.
I’ve come to understand that strength in women takes many forms. During Women’s History Month, it feels especially important to pause and recognize the women who have shaped not just my career, but who I am.
It’s easy to recognize the strong women who cheer you on, the ones who encourage you to follow your dreams, who tell you that you can do hard things, and who stand beside you when you take risks. I have been incredibly fortunate to have those women in my life. But there’s another kind of strength that often goes unrecognized: the women who challenge you. The ones who ask why. Why are you doing this? Why do you want this? Why this path? These women don’t always make you feel comfortable in the moment, but their impact can be profound. They push you to examine your choices, to dig deeper, and to own your direction.
For me, that woman is my cousin MaryLouise. Growing up, she was like a big sister, and as we got older, she became one of my closest friends. I followed her in many ways, even attending Northern Arizona University, just like she did. During my second summer, I made the decision to stay and work at a law firm. I enjoyed it, the research, the problem-solving, the exposure to the law. When I shared that with her, she didn’t just nod and say “that’s great.” She asked me why. And when I explained how much I liked the work, she asked a second, more important question: “Then why aren’t you studying law?” That simple but direct question forced me to confront something I hadn’t fully considered. Why wasn’t I?
Then why aren’t you studying law?
That moment changed everything. Her willingness to question me, to not simply accept my path but to challenge it, set me on the course to law school and ultimately to the career I’ve built over the past two decades. We all have people like that in our lives, if we’re lucky. The ones who don’t just go along, but who make us think, who make us question whether we’re choosing something because it’s truly ours or because it’s what we’ve always assumed we should do.
This Women’s History Month, I’m grateful not only for the women who supported me, but for the ones who challenged me. They helped me become not just a lawyer, but a stronger, more intentional version of myself and that’s a kind of strength worth celebrating.
