You’re Gonna Make It After All: Remembering An Icon

“You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.”
– Mary Tyler Moore

I grew up in the Oprah generation; she was well on her way before I even existed. I would rush home from school and enjoy that day’s lessons and insights before I would tackle my homework or head off to soccer practice. Those who know me well know that I have a slight Oprah obsession.

I still clearly recall the day that a surprise guest arrived on stage at The Oprah Winfrey Show and brought her to tears. It was someone I had heard her speak of, but really did not know much about. It was Mary Tyler Moore. Seeing the way Oprah reacted to the surprise caught my attention, and made me take a second look. Her reaction made me want to get to know this Mary Tyler Moore lady.

I started going through the tv guide and finding every rerun of the Mary Tyler Moore Show I could, and with every single episode I watched the more I fell in love. I was completely captivated. I also remember taping the cast reunion on Oprah; I had to have watched it about 100 times. As the years went on I was able to track down every season of the show on DVD, and if it were possible to wear out DVDs I am certain these would be toast.

Mary’s character put a focus on being a strong woman. She wore pants, she was a single female, she had goals, she was not afraid to chase them, and she knew what she brought to the table, she was the smartest in the room. At the time the Mary Tyler Moore Show was airing this was truly revolutionary. There are generations of journalists, comedians, and actresses who have since followed in her footsteps. Mary Tyler Moore was a game changer.

It is impossible for me to overstate what Mary came to mean to me, and the impact she had on my life. The more I watched the show the more I wanted to be Mary’s friend, and the more I wanted to be a friend like Mary. Mary Richards was a character I could relate to and learn from. She was hard working, she stuck to her guns, she was committed to the team around her, she lifted people up, she was kind hearted, she was determined, and most importantly she had an unwavering amount of self-worth and self-respect.

Watching that show was a transformative experience for me, it gave me the courage to be who I was, to chase my dreams, and to go out into the world and make it on my own.

I think the reason she resonated with so many is that we saw the best of ourselves in Mary Tyler Moore, and her lovable character Mary Richards. Both her and the show inspired people to move beyond the norms society had placed on being a woman. Because of who she was, the work she did, and the trail she blazed all of those years ago there are strong, passionate, intelligent women all over the world today that have her to thank. She was a force for good in this world; she was an icon, a pioneer, and an American treasure. I know I will forever be grateful for the work she did, and the legacy she left.

Last night after news broke of her passing online sales of her shows and movies spiked, my hope is that another generation is busy learning just how amazing she was. I am certainly grateful I had the opportunity to fall in love with Mary all those years ago.

That smile, and that ‘spunk’ radiated through our tv screens, into our homes, and forever into our hearts.

BIG NEWS!!

Well folks, it is official… I BOUGHT A CAR!!

I am finally growing up a little bit. I was apprehensive to buy the car as I have had limited financial responsibility thus far in my life, and I had NO IDEA how to drive a standard. I decided to face these two fears and buy the car anyway.

Although I had never driven a standard, I was determined to drive the car off of the lot myself, and I did. I drove it all the way home, and didn’t make out too bad at all, everyone survived, and there is only a slight chance I gave my mom and I whiplash. I must admit I get very angry when I am not good at things, and it has been a rough couple of days learning how to drive, mind you yesterday I made it to soccer and back stall free. I did however have a slip-up on the way home from work, but I survived. This has been a huge learning curve for me, but it seems each day it is getting easier and easier, and everyday I am loving my car more and more.

I spent Sunday afternoon cleaning out my car, making it smell and look fresh, I changed my wipers, I put a lot of love into it and I was so very very proud of how it turned out… I woke up Monday morning to bird poop on my car, possibly karma for all of the times I have taken my parents car to MSVU and brought it back covered in bird poop. Nonetheless I was unimpressed.  I guess it is all part of owning a car; another part of owning a car is naming the car. Usually I would turn to my friends for help on a project like this, however this was a simple decision.

You might ask what I decided to name this car of mine, I must admit before I even picked the car up I had it named; Vonda. Vonda the Honda is a gem, and when it came to naming her there was only one option, I knew right away my new ride was a girl, and there is nothing like a rhyming name. Of course I could have gone with Ronda or Wonda but they would not have showcased my love for Ally McBeal. Figured I could name the car after Vonda Sheppard, the lady who lent her voice to the music of Ally.

I am looking forward to the many adventures Vonda and I will have, and I am certainly looking forward to the freedom of having my own car… I am not so much looking forward to the bills.  Although I am nervous I am hoping in the end it will all be worth it, as this is something I have wanted to do for such a longtime.

Voicemails & Proud Moments

Yesterday was a day I was proud of beyond many I have had in my life. I survived what was to be my hardest semester, what were to be my toughest courses, and what became my most strenuous two weeks. I may not have done it with a ton of grace, or all kinds of dignity, but I did it. Yesterday I passed in my final marketing strategies paper, and I don’t think I ever felt more relieved.

I am not yet done my degree, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel, two arts electives stand between my degree and I. These courses I know will be a challenge for me, and I am looking forward to it. However I must admit when I finished my paper and submitted it yesterday I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders, I felt accomplished, and I felt proud.

Me being proud of myself is one thing, but I was shocked, I received a few voicemails and text messages from close friends, as well as from some unexpected people, and it really warmed my heart, and made the moment even sweeter. I know how cheesy that truly sounds but honestly that is how I felt, it was something so simple to do, and most did not even realize how much it meant to me. From people telling me to go enjoy a beer, and have a great day, to others telling me to take over the world.

I always knew I would do the whole university thing, I always new I would finish university, and enjoy every minute… or at least most minutes. It is just weird to think it is all coming to an end, and I really don’t know where I am going to end up next. It is nice to know I can finish what I start, and even nicer to know how many people believe in me.

No matter what is next, no matter the accomplishments, no matter the challenge, no matter the moment I have all the right people in my corner, and they are the people that keep me going, the people that make me want to be better.

Last Class… Bash?

Today was the last time I walked into class and took a seat as an undergraduate student at Mount Saint Vincent University, I do not know how to feel about this. I am very excited that school is coming to an end, that I get to spend my summer on the soccer field, that after four long years and a whole lot of work I am going to cross that finish line.  However there is a scary part to all of this. I am someone who has never really known my end goal, where I want to be or what I am going to end up doing.

With that being said I have always been someone who has forged a path, not always the one of least resistance, but I have made my way to where I am today. I made it here through sheer determination, hard work, some goal setting, and of course I made a ton of lists, and I made lists about those lists. I have always been someone who knows which step comes next, or which project I need to work on next, I am terrified as for the first time I do not know my next move, I feel like my life is so open ended. This could be a great thing for me or it might not be, that has yet to be determined. I am just anxious to find out what is going to happen to me next.

It is not that I am the student who counted the minutes until I got to leave university; I had a great time at The Mount, best four years I have had. I have met some incredible people, I have learned some pretty cool things, and I made some irreplaceable memories. I am grateful for every moment I have had, and every person who made my experience what it was. I am just looking forward to the road that lies ahead, I always seem to find a great adventure or a great experience in everything I choose to do. I am hoping this will be no different.

Four years have come and gone, I am happy I earned a piece of paper I can hang on my wall, but more importantly I am happy about the fact I earned a future, I made friends, I learned a lot about who I was, about who I could be. I had hilarious nights, and I had perfect days. I feel lucky and honoured that I had such a great time, and I am hoping that my future will bring just as many, if not more, good days and happy days than I have already had.

Quote – Failing

This quote is one I used to have posted on the walls of my room; it would be the first thing I saw upon waking up. They used to be words I lived by. Somehow, someway at some point on my journey to right now I let these words get away from me. Last night after a long day, I got home and they were posted in a friends Facebook status. Reading the words really took me back, reminded me what they used to mean to me. Some days I am far too hard on myself, and I think I need to start getting back to the place I remember. The place where I took a hard day and turned it into a good one, where I took a failure and turned it into a teachable moment, where anything bad that happened was going to lead me to something bigger and better. I think as we grow up, as we start to face the pressures of the world, we forget that sometimes a mistake or a misstep can be something positive in the end. We put too much pressure on ourselves to be these unflawed, completely errorless perfect humans, which is so far fetched and ridiculous as I can tell you that not one exists in the entire world. So maybe it is time to start embracing your trips, your falls, and your slipups, you cannot undo what has been done, you cannot go back in time and win the big game or make the big shot, but you can work harder to win the next one or get the next shot in.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

– Michael Jordan

Not A Teenager Anymore

I have not been a teenager for over a year now, but last week it was a reality that hit me quite hard for the very first time. For everyone who knows me well, they know that I am a goofball, and super competitive. Therefore when I was coaching soccer practice and was short a team me and the other coach decided to join in. It did not take long at all until I was doing diving headers, and fighting tooth and nail for the ball.

When I woke up Thursday morning I was feeling less than fantastic and for the first time in my life I was

Growing Up & Moving Out

I have never been one for expression or writing, but for quite sometime my sister and I have been pondering the idea of beginning a blog.  My biggest reservation about this whole idea from the start has been what we each would write about. However as of late I have realized that all of the “what ifs” in life were stopping me from being spontaneous. I have always been the worrying type, but figured at some point I should just allow myself to go with the flow.  And what better time than now?!

I am going into my fourth year university, I am in that funny twenty something stage in life where I am still not sure who I am or what I want, yet still know where I came from and who I want to be.

This week is a year in our household, my sister who has experienced a little more of her twenty something’s has moved out for the first time, which is exciting, yet scary (for both of us!) When I was much younger I dreamed of a world in which I was an only child, and now faced with the prospects of actually becoming an only child I am conflicted. I am happy for her, I am excited for all of us to begin this new chapter, but I feel like this is the first really grown up thing we have faced and it just means there are so many more things much like it we will be facing soon. Yes many years ago I may have dreamed of a world without her, but now I cannot picture my life without her.

We may have spent much of our youth picking on each other, stealing each others clothes and beating each other up, heck we still do all of that. However in the last five years we have become even closer, the relationship I have with her is like no other in my life. I feel I am a lucky lady to have such a close family, and I know that will never change no matter how near or far apart we live, luckily she has moved pretty close to home (apartment and location approved by yours truly.) With all of that being said we thought maybe it was time to stop talking about starting a blogs and actually do it, so here I am ready to begin, between the two of us we have about… zero writing and blogging experience but I guess that is just part of this whole adventure. It is something we can learn together, something we can share in, and of course hopefully it is something we can be proud of.

– M