Need a SHEro

We’re want to hear about your SHERO for our June issue. 

There isn’t anyone I can point to in my life as my “Hero” ... maybe it’s because I began to see people as nuanced and complex at an early age. I have been smitten with movie stars, impressed by authors, moved by a neighbor’s good deeds, but a “hero” is a person whose entire life we aim to emulate, I think, and I just haven’t met that person. But there have been several – many – who’ve had an impact through the years:

Once I told my parents that I thought my Sunday School teacher should be a priest because she wore leg braces due to multiple sclerosis yet raised a busy family and drove all over town and was the most perfect, pious person I knew. I guess nominating someone for priesthood was similar to calling him/her a hero in my twisted upbringing, but the idea was quickly  displaced by anger and spun off a whole new phase of mini-feminism when I was told “girls can’t be priests.” I still think that woman is pretty cool, though.

A friend’s mother was a hero of sorts to me because she had it all together: she worked full time, drove cool cars (often convertibles), smoked long cigarettes and never let the cracks show. She even took me to Florida when I was 12, so her daughter had a friend to hang with ... propelling her immediately to goddess status. Yet I knew her life hadn’t been perfect, and I didn’t like that she always wore high heels (ok, that’s a 12-year-old speaking)... there was something a little too perfect about her that made me suspicious.

When I was 18, my older sister became a hero to me. She was going to law school, getting married, and was the person I called when I dropped out of college for the first time. She didn’t scold or lecture, but simply said “If I’m going to hire someone and I get a lot of resumes, the first thing I’m going to do is make a pile of those without college degrees and throw them away. Then I’ll look closely at those who do have college degrees.” That simple piece of advice kept me going until I finally finished college 20 years later. I don’t think she’d go as easy on her own daughters these days, but at the time, I’m sure she understood my situation and had the perfect piece of motivational advice.

Over time, I’ve met very impressive people, mostly those who have overcome obstacles and turned the circumstances into an opportunity, turned failures into strengths.

• There was the woman whose leukemia diagnosis prompted her to start living a healthier lifestyle, so she started running races, getting pledges, and created a stream of money for leukemia/lymphoma research.

• There were the young women profiled in skirt last spring who saw an opportunity, put aside doubts and set off on a car race from London to Cameroon.

• There was the young woman who stood up at a Ladies who Launch event and told the story about the accountant who told her that her dream of opening a retail clothing shop was ridiculous and it would never work, so she gathered herself up and created a roving boutique instead.

• Another is the locally famous Candy O’Terry who tells absolutely heart-wrenching stories about losing her mother to breast cancer at an early age, then raising her children solo, even bringing them to sleep in the radio station while she was on the air overnight... I love that she tells the stories while wearing designer suits that she can afford because she’s now a station executive, having held every job and outlasted every other manager..

I’ve already heard a few great SHERO stories, but haven’t made any decisions about who’ll be profiled in skirt. Send yours in before it’s too late: alisonm@skirtboston.com.