Student Responses to WHM Writing Prompt
Every year, students are asked to respond to a writing prompt to get them thinking about Women's History Month. This year's prompt is: "Our first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, has noted, “We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone… and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.”
Today we weave the threads of our foremothers, benefiting from the strides they gained in voting rights, women’s property rights, equal opportunity in work and education, and equal pay. In celebration of Women’s History Month we invite you to honor the women who have helped and continue to help you weave your own story."
Many students have responded, and a sample of their responses are shown below. Some of the students chose to remain anonymous.
Who has helped you weave your story?
Kendrick Watts
Over the years, I have encountered many life lessons. As a young African American male growing up in the tough streets of East Nashville, it is very easy to get involved in the criminal lifestyle. However, never did I have to stress that issue. Being that I had a mother who made sure that me and my brothers didn’t have to experience that.
My mother is not your average mother. My mother (like many others) had to also play the role of a father as well. Being that me and my brothers had different fathers, my mother loved us all equally. With life taking its toll on her, my mother always found a way to provide for me and my brothers. Whether my mother was working 2-3 jobs, never did we go without something. As some will say, “Never can a woman teach a boy how to be a man.” But I must say, their assumption is invalid. As a young woman with two kids already (my older brothers) my mother was held against her will and sexually harassed, which led to my birth. So with me growing up not knowing who my father is was very tough for me. However, this made my bond with my mother even stronger. Though I may be fatherless, I know that I have a mother who will continue to teach me how to be a man.
Maggie Drummond
Throughout history women all over have been objectified, subordinated, and dominated by the males. Since the beginning of time young girls were taught that their goal in life is to provide for their family with little to no education whatsoever. They did not have a say in voting or any other general factors to contribute to society. However, today women can do just as much as the men can or even more. Thanks to early women such as Susan B. Anthony women can vote. Moreover, one special woman I would like to honor for our decade is Michelle Obama. Simply hearing her name one might think of power considering she is not only the First Lady, but she is the first African-American First Lady. Now, most people were unhappy with the fact that our president was black. Well, try being the First-Lady of the United States when people were upset. Michelle was not only African American but she was also a woman. Today our country remains racist and sexist in some type of way especially in the political world. Michelle Obama has definitely triumphed over being the minority and a woman at the same time. She worked hard throughout her whole life to get where she is now and even where she met the love of her life, Barack. Mrs. Obama has continued her efforts to support one of her most popular achievements, which was her ambitious goal to end childhood obesity. She brought together people all over the nation to solve this epidemic within a generation. Another achievement of her was to motivate young people to finish school beyond high school to get a great education and a fulfilling career. Overall, one can conclude Michelle Obama simply does not carry the burden of being the first African-American First Lady. She excels in both her diplomatic and public roles. I honor Michelle Obama as an influential woman with her motivation in health, education, and equality in our nation and even in our world.
Mary Greer
I know that people would take this opportunity to write about their mothers and all the happy memories shared with her. Don’t get me wrong, I like my mom but sometimes other women make even bigger influences on young children’s lives. The woman I have chosen to write about is one of the most brave people I have ever known. Her name is Mrs. Cathy Sims and she has a fantastic story that has had a great impact on my life.
When Mrs. Cathy was younger, she was married to a man. Sadly, her husband died. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and was put on radiation treatment. While this treatment helped the lymphoma, it damaged her heart and she was given a timeline on her life. She started living her life to the fullest, something I could never imagine doing. She spent a good amount of time on the transplant list and then, all of a sudden, there was a donor that became available. She received the heart and she started living life even more to the fullest. Life seemed good. In that time, she had gotten remarried. Years later, her husband, Mr. Doug, developed colon cancer and got really sick. He was admitted to the hospital and started getting better. On a weekend of him being home, his back porch broke with him on it and he broke his back. He recovered from both and life seemed good again until Mr. Doug was diagnosed with brain cancer and died. Through all this, Mrs. Cathy has still struggled with her heart. That is her story. All truth.
Mrs. Cathy has influenced me positively because through everything she has been through, Mrs. Cathy has stayed positive and still manages to encourage and love on everyone around her. Through her example of staying positive and not letting anything get her down, she has helped me to try and do the same and follow her example. I love you Mrs. Cathy!
Kimeshia Coburn
Hi, my name is Kimeshia Coburn and I would like to recognize Suze Orman as a role model in my life. I was introduced to Suze Orman back in 2013 when I was a freshman in college. Not to mention a single mother of one and well on my way to success. There was one problem, I was an adult with the responsibility of 3-4 adults and could not manage my money to save my life. I never had any plans on saving, and my definition of saving was saving a lump sum and then dipping back in it every other week. When I watched my first Suze Orman video she spoke about how to save money the smart way. She also shared with people how she became the successful person she is today. I remember my thoughts when I watched the first episode. With just moments in, I was like, “This lady already had money, she doesn’t know what it is like to struggle.” Them about 10 minutes went by and I was like, “This lady might can teach me a thing or two.” She spoke heavily about managing money, opening a savings account, putting money into a retirement account, and investing in yourself. I remember Suze saying start small, start by saving five dollars a month, then twenty and so on. She also spoke on how not to save or put away money that you will notice is gone. Well here I am, 1 year and a couple of months later and I have been very successful in saving my earnings. I have already started paying my student loans and I have been very, very responsible in how I spend my money. So I would like to highlight Ms. Suze Orman for helping me with a rewarding, life changing lesson, that I can teach to others and something that I can practice all my life. I feel like I know Suze Orman personally because she taught me a lesson at 24 years of age that I had been trying to learn for a lifetime. With open arms, I just want to say thank you.
Kelly Baker
Dating back to 1848 women have been fighting for the right to vote. Women have come a long way to fight for our own right to vote, and now rights to our own bodies are being taken away. On November 14, 2014 we passed Amendment I to regulate abortions. We women have been fighting for our rights since 1848 and still losing them. Now that we have regulated and restricted our abortions there will be mandatory waiting periods for up to 8 days to even see a doctor to talk. Some pregnancies that are doomed will have to be delayed, even in serious cases, sometimes causing death even to the mother. Some states are even giving out false information about the aftermath of abortions such as breast cancer, potential fetal pain, and emotional aftermath. Statistics show that more people die in dentist chairs and from penicillin shots than from abortions. Even if you are a rape or incest victim and you are capable of having a child you probably would not qualify for an abortion. Having a child bore out of violence and hate will have significant psychological disturbances for both mother and child. Men should have no vote over women’s bodies. Until they feel the pain of childbirth, then they can vote for me. Men do not understand the emotional and physical toll a child has on a woman’s body, let alone the choice to bring it into this world even if only financially unstable. Ashley B. Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood, has been fighting for my body’s right since April of 2013 and I will continue to fight and support her until women have rights to abortions again. We have had a loss for women in 2014, but I believe we will be able to bring it back together with Ms. Coffield’s help.
Anonymous
I can start by honoring my great grandmother, but it did not start with her. I would have to respectfully give honor to Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman paved the way for not only African American women, but African Americans as a whole. She gave slaves hope that there was another side to the cruel world they were being forced to live in. With Harriet, it gave us the idea to fight for freedom and equal rights. My great grandmother was a field worker, all the way up to the birth of my grandmother, and even after my grandmother’s birth. Susan B. Anthony gave my grandmother hope, in a way that she didn’t have to watch her husband work, legally. With that, my grandmother eventually owned over 5 different properties in what is now called “Orange Mound” in Memphis, TN. She also owned property in Rossville, TN. My great grandmother left her property to each of the 9 of her children. My now grandmother, who is my great grandmother’s youngest child, has lived on one of the properties for 40 years, and the other women mentioned overcame a lot and triumphed in the end. I respectfully give honor to these women because the world today is brand new.
Anonymous
Since I was in middle school, I knew I was STEM bound in my career choices. However, the reality of choosing this dawned on me just in time for young adults to make their college bound decisions. The major lists offered so many choices, and I chose physics out of all of them. Physics as an interest was unheard of in my tiny all-girls school. It was a jump from all my English, Art, Language majoring friends. I came to visit the U of M, specifically the physics department, and found only more fears. They warned me physics is a very male dominated major. This wasn’t really news, but it wasn’t really something I thought about. “Probably the only other female-starved major was computer science,” college students laughed around me at the joke. “Ha, ha,” I replied during the visit. That’s comforting to a seventeen year old already unsure of her major.
Luckily I already had an “in” within the physics department. My school didn’t even teach physics due to problems in teacher administration. I had to beg and plead with my school until they came up with the decision that if I could find the course elsewhere I could take it on their pocket. So I did at the U of M and after much talking with the head of the department it was decided I would take Physics I calculus based from Dr. Gire. She taught my first ever physics class and became my advisor for my classes. I struggled in her class deeply. First, finding it. I was 20 minutes late the first day and I had to wear my extremely “Catholic schoolgirl” uniform each day. I took this class while doing my normal teenagerly duties of going to high school, and not doing drugs.
I had a few mental health breakdowns and one involved whether or not I should become a physicist or a pastry chef (because I was only 17, how the heck was I supposed to know what I want my entire future to be?). I scheduled a meeting with my advisor and begged her for help and advice. She said life was about trying and she had been in my shoes before. We went through my college plan and goals and came to the agreement that it was pretty snazzy. She teaches me Astrophysics now and helped me during my last upset of whether or not I want to major in math as well. See, I want to become a theoretical physicist. If I did not have Dr. Gire to give me her reflections on when she was in my shoes, my shoes would be far elsewhere.
Kaitlynne Corfman
One of the most influential people to me is my best friend Cali. The funny thing is she didn’t start out that was. We met mutually through one of our friends. Cali was quiet, and at first I didn’t even think we had a lot in common. It wasn’t until about a year later that after one of our friends ditched us both, we found comfort in each other. After that, we were inseparable. We would talk and text constantly about everything. A little bit during this, I suffered through a horrible breakup. Cali was there for me every step of the way. No matter how inconvenienced she was, she was always there for me. She never ignored me or put our conversation off for a different time. This is not something that I see often. I would always do the exact same to her. She was my rock, my confidant, and the only person who kept me sane sometimes. When she moved, I was so sad. There was an empty space where she left. But she was never truly gone. We still text, as usual, every day. When we get the time, we Skype. Even without her physical appearance, her involvement is very much active. She makes me feel so strong; like even on my darkest days, I’m capable of making choices that will help me. I have more faith in myself and my ability. Cali is such a strong person, sweet and capable. Her abilities and her personality have shaped me into a better person, well-rounded and confident in ways I never could have done on my own. Since we still get to talk from time to time, I am influenced by her every day. Because of her, I am much stronger as a woman.
Anonymous
Women’s rights have been a long and hot debate over the course of history. In the United States, women’s right really became a topic of interest in the 1840s and 1850s during the Seneca Falls Convention. This convention was led by key feminist fighters such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. These women fought early on for the demand that women be treated equally socially and politically. Since then, women have been granted the right to vote and countless other necessities for them to be viewed as equal to men. However, women still face discrimination today which is an absurd idea to me because I personally believe women can do everything and anything men can do; women have paved the way they ran for centuries. A woman who has helped me weave my own story would be my step-mom because she is a woman. When she began her career as an accountant at First Horizon National Bank, she faced challenges “moving up the ladder.” Also, she was paid less than most males in her office. However, she has overcome those hardships with perseverance and motivation to prove she is equal, if not better, than men in her workplace. She now works the corporate First Horizon National Bank in downtown Memphis in an important executive position. My stepmom’s story proves that even though she may be discriminated against because of her gender, she can still do anything a male can do and she has proved this many times. It is vital to analyze important event in women’s history because the female gender must not be further discriminated against anymore.
Jewel Spears
I have led a very complicated life though it has been very short. The person I must think influenced me was not my actual mother but a person I saw as a motherly figure. Angelique Gray took me in when I had nowhere to life and not only that, she was the person who pushed me to embark upon my college career. She always strived for me to do better. When I graduated high school I had nowhere to live she so allowed me to live with her until I got back on my feet and got myself together. The one major rule that I had to abide by was that I respected her and maintained a job. When written it is two rules but as she stated it to me she spoke them as one. Her daughter Callie became my little sister and I always felt after that day that she was a blood relative. I remember one summer when all the power went out to the entire city and we had to go live with her mother for two weeks in Millington. We were all bored out of our minds because she has no cable nor games but we made the best of it. We drove to Wal-mart and bought board games and videogames for my Playstation and even just sat and talked to each other. It is and always will be one of the worst and best times of my life. My adopted mother Angelique Gray will always be one of the most influential women in my life and if she had not been there my life may have gone in a completely opposite direction. I could be in jail or worse and I am grateful to have someone of her caliber in my life.
DeKitra Durant
It is normal for one to write about the people that are close to them such as family members, or people they have never met such as celebrities. I am going outside of the box and tell about my experience with an extraordinary woman in my life. I met her my freshman year of college and we made a connection the first time we had a conversation. She was friends with the coordinator of my scholarship program, so our ACAD class worked closely with her. When I arrived at college, I did not know what to expect. She made sure that she talked to me and gave me the best advice when she detected I needed it. When we would talk I would feel motivated and determined to keep reaching and moving toward the goals that I had set for myself. I would be pushed for greatness and to continue to learn and grow on my journey. She was concerned about me and she genuinely cared about my well being and progress in college. She works diligently in the Recruitment Office and carries her team to successfully recruiting hundreds of students each semester to the University of Memphis. She always has so much to do but whenever I call her she makes time for me. She is such an incredible woman with many talents that she uses to the best of her ability. Just with her presence, she is powerful beyond measure and demands attention from whoever her audience may be. Her name is Milly Kate Howard, and the work that she has done for this university and the people that she has made relationships with is unmeasurable. I hope one day after I graduate I could come back and work in the Recruitment Office with her and her team. Milly Kate Howard will be recognized all over the world one of these days. I feel that more college women should be exposed to at least one person that can push them and challenge them in today’s society to better prepare them for the real world.
Anonymous
Women are essential in society today. Women tend to serve as powerful role models. At least that is the way I perceive my mother and grandmother. These two women have been an asset to my life. They have paved a way for me. They are my biggest support system. If it wasn’t for them, I would not be capable of writing this essay. My mother especially has helped me become the young woman I am today. The things I do such as work hard in school and make good grades are for them, because I love to see the smiles on both of their faces. I would like to honor them both because together they have raised me both as single parents and they continue to set a good example for me. Although my mother and grandmother did not complete college, they are still my motivators and they are still able to teach me what is best such as getting an education. I know it seems hard to be pressured by women who did not receive a college degree, but I understand the pressure. It is because they would like to see me be better and do better than them. They have only always wanted what was best for me. They have been my walking steps through life. They have inspired me to do many things and with that it has allowed me to open my mind up to many different things. I thank my grandmother even more because if it was not for her I would not have the caring and loving mother that I have. My mother has to be one of the hardest working mothers I have ever known. She has raised four children by herself almost my entire life. That has to be a very tough job and to see my mother accomplish that I feel as if as her daughter, I can accomplish anything. For all of her hard work, I want to honor her with much love and respect as well as my grandmother. I love them both dearly.
Anonymous
My mother made the choice to stay at home and care for my brothers and I. It wasn’t because she was uneducated, because she is educated. She chose to make a sacrifice to give up her own dreams to care for us. She and my dad sacrificed for her to be able to do this. It was important to her to be able to do that. She was always there for us, cheering us on and encouraging us to do our best. She wasn’t always our favorite person. Being a mother is hard. Sometimes she had to be tough and discipline us in order for us to learn from our mistakes. At the time, I didn’t understand and thought she was being ridiculous; however, now that I am an adult, I understand. Now that I am a mother, I understand more. As a mother I would lay down my life for my children. I know without a doubt that my mother would do the same. She hasn’t always been without hardship. In fact, she has had many hardships. She was diagnosed with breast cancer twelve years ago. She was stage four, and we were all very scared. She fought her cancer and she beat it! She still has health issues from her treatment, but she presses on. Despite what she is going through and or how bad she feels, she will drop everything that is on her schedule to help me, my family, my brothers, or her friends. She always looks for how she can help other people, and how she can be a blessing. She has taught me to look for the good in people because everyone has a story or something that they are going through. She has taught me to be selfless, and how to put others before myself. She has taught me how to work hard and how to succeed in life. She also taught me to be joyous and content. I am so thankful for my mother, for all that she is, and for all that she has taught me.