Behind every strong woman is a strong role model. For me, that was my mother.
My mother was definitely a woman who shook things up. And, not necessarily because she was fearless. In fact, I think it was often fear that motivated her. What continues to amaze me even at the age of fifty-six and I look back on her life, is that she didn’t allow her fear to paralyze her.
Eartha Kitt and daughter, Kitt.
I had her examples and teachings to learn from as a girl, but it is only really as an adult that I can truly grasp the tremendous strength she possessed.
We are living in a time that is being dubbed by some as the ‘year of the woman’, and strong female role models are being brought more and more into the spotlight. But, I still think young girls receive so many mixed messages from the media, especially social media, as well as their communities, friends and families, that raising women to feel empowered is still a struggle.
As a young girl I read all The Nancy Drew Mystery Books as well as The Hardy Boys Series and I would comment to my mother that, naturally, it always took two boys to solve their mysteries, but Nancy Drew could do it alone. That seemed to make perfect sense to me given how my mother had succeeded on her own.
Shaking Things Up
I recently came across a new book that I am giving to my children, even though they are already in their twenties, called Shaking Things Up. 14 Young Women Who Changed The World. 
It is a book about real-life young women, written by Susan Hood and illustrated by thirteen extraordinary women. The young women in these stories are from all walks of life, different experiences, different countries and different ethnic backgrounds, but all had an impact on the world.
My mother always taught me how one person can affect change on the world around them. It doesn’t matter how small that change may be, everyTHING we do matters. Like the ripples that are caused by throwing a rock in a pond; the large rock creates big ripples and can noticeably make an impact on the shoreline. But a small rock also will effect a change on that shoreline, it just may take more time and may not be quite as obvious, but over the course of history that small ripple will make a difference.
I do not know Susan Hood, although I believe we live in the same county, nor do I know any of the female illustrators, but this book has definitely made an impact on my life and I would love to see the stories of these young women shared with this next generation of amazing girls.
Remember ~ Treasure ~ Love… Kitt
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