I was born blessed. I have such an extraordinary family that sometimes (all the time) I become neurotic about their well-being. Ask my mother. I call her about sixteen times a day, under the guise that I want to know how to cook this recipe, cut against or on the salvage, or to check the Sig Alert and find out why I’m not moving on the 110 freeway (which she always happily obliges to check). I’m blessed to have parents that adore me, a sister who loves and supports me, and I had grandparents that cherished me. I want to write about the women in my family, since this blog is dedicated to the fabulous women that inspire me, frankly because there are a lot of ladies in the DeFilippo family. (Papa, I love you so much it’s silly. One day I’ll create a blog only about you. Or I’ll make a special exception some day soon to write versus about all the air shows you took me to and tedious evenings of calculus tutoring. Oh, and how proud you are of me.)
My mother is strong willed, stubborn at times, but is filled with love and wisdom that a young woman in this profession needs. Whenever my latest relationship fails, she’s there to remind me of how interesting, outgoing, and loving I am, which makes it easier for me to move onto the next. She taught me that I have the strength and determination to accomplish anything. This has been an energy that I have drawn on a lot this year, with the economical woes that are plaguing everyone, I know that life will not always be so day-to-day, and that the stability (whatever that truly means) will have its due presence.
I grew up with an impenetrable desire to be exactly like my sister. From the pink hair to the tattoos to Smashing Pumpkins … I simply idolized her. As we got older, we very much became our own women with our own individual strengths. My sister is a brilliant artist, an adventure seeker (her recent solo trip to Australia to celebrate a pinnacle birthday serves as a prime example) and one of my biggest supporters. Her belief in me is unwavering. That gift is something that I can only hope to repay her with designer clothing when I become Zac Posen’s muse. Alright, I’m dreaming big here. So what?!
This post is very much a thank you to the women who have had, and continue to have a direct influence on my life. They helped create within me strength, courage, and intelligence that has cost me many relationships, but leaves me happy and hopeful in the end.
Yesterday, I was watching a video that I found on Glamour magazine’s website. It was a mash up of the Women of the Year ceremony that they recently held, celebrating all of the fabulous women of 2009. I found it most uplifting and particularly inspirational when Maya Angelou speaks. Please watch, feel, and enjoy.
Here is a direct transcription of what Maya Angelou says. Print it out, put it somewhere where you’ll see it ever day, make it your mantra, live by it, swear by it.
"Glamor is profound. Glamor says I have enough responsibility to take responsibility for myself and for the time and spaces I occupy. That's glamor.
Saying I want to be as beautiful as I can be, to myself first, and then to anybody else who has the sense enough to see it."
-- Maya Angelou
