The woman I admire

"If you hear the dogs keep going. If you see the torches in the woods keep going. If they are shouting after you keep going. Don't ever stop, keep going. If you want a taste of freedom keep going" she screamed in the convention quoting from Hariett Tubman an abolitionist and humanitarian during the civil war.

You may like her or not!! I didn't like her very much in the beginning of this year, and before I didn't know her very well.

But the more I learned and read about her, I started to like and admire her very much and once in a while wished I was like her.

At first glance she looked very tough, ambitious and sometimes obnoxious. Her straightforwardness, her tireless efforts to succeed and speeches were irritating to me, and maybe I wasn't objective because I liked the other guy, her rival.

I didn't want her to win, I didn't want her to hurt the other guy and couldn't understand her insistence on winning. She had everything until then. She went to best schools, she was one of the best in her profession, she lived in the most desirable house in the country, she has seen many different countries, cultures, she has met world leaders, celebrities, authors. Why is the insistence?

After her bid was over, I wanted to know more about her, something drew me to her. I listened to her speeches and read her books.
She was a human like all of us. Her upbringing, family, neighborhood, friends, traditions and most of all feelings were very similar to those of a lot of people's.

She just wanted to change the world, wanted to make a difference on people's lives most of whom less fortunate. She saw the world as a daughter, student, activist, wife and mother but most of all as an independent educated, self aware woman. She is the one who stood up to the men who ruled the country without hesitation, but she was the one who had worries about her daughter's challenges growing up in public eye as well as children who don't have health care, she was the one who debates toe to toe in men's world and makes sure she is heard by the rest of the world.

While reading her self written biography I realized how open heartedly her life was shared: her mistakes, successes, feelings and her faith. You may not be a believer of any religon but she quotes John Wesley's ,an English preacher and founder of Methodist movement,words and says she took heart on those words :

"Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can."

Even if you are not fond of her you can find some common ground with her with these words, I did.