I recently shared the Team SCA Amazing Women Everywhere campaign, with that awesome - oh wait, maybe I should say "Amazing" - mosaic celebrating the amazing women in our lives. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, you can catch up here. Today I want to talk about the amazing women who inspire me personally.
It's been a while since I wrote about my grandma, Judy, who passed away five years ago this July. Has it really been five years?!
My grandmother was one of those people that you would call eccentric. While I was growing up, I thought she was "weird," even a little crazy. She would say, "Yeah, crazy like a fox." She was a force to be reckoned with - you couldn't tell her what to do or force her into societal norms. In my youth, I saw her eccentric behavior as a fault, but after she passed and I begin to look back at her life, I realized something: we were a lot alike.
My grandmother came to the U.S. from Cuba when she was five years old, and by the time she was six, she had lost her mother and was placed in an orphanage, eventually going to live with a classmate as a foster child. She married my grandfather very young, divorced young, and raised five children virtually on her own. When I think back to everything my grandma did for "work" in her life, this is where I begin to see how much like her I am: I have her entrepreneurial spirit and her zest for life. I'd also like to think I inherited a little bit of her fashion sense.
She worked as a clown at parties, she taught herself how to landscape and created beautiful gardens for people, she carved lava rock and created floral arrangements, she sold orchids on the side of the road and in shopping malls, and in her later days, she worked as a care-taking companion for the elderly. She did whatever she had to do to earn a living - but she never worked a traditional job.
As I sit in my home office, working on the blog that I created and the business I have built myself from the ground up, I realize...I have always been inspired by my grandma Judy's entrepreneurial spirit.
She was a free spirit to say the least. Grandma Judy loved life and she embraced it and lived it to the fullest. I remember her walking around singing Hello, Dolly, at the top of her lungs when I was a child - she was taking singing lessons. She never passed up an opportunity to jump in the family car and head to the mountains of North Carolina with us, a place she loved dearly. And her family? She loved her family, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren!
SCA believes that everyone should have the opportunity to live life to the fullest, and we are committed to creating value for people and nature. To champion these ideals, SCA launches Amazing Women Everywhere, a digital photo mosaic to celebrate women who have a positive impact on others.
About the Amazing Women Everywhere Campaign
TEAM SCA is the all-female team competing in the Volvo Ocean Race is made up of women from all over the world and from all walks of life, these 13 women have trained for two years to compete in the race, and this is the first time in a decade that there has been an all-female team in the Volvo Ocean Race!
The Amazing Women Everywhere campaign not only gives you the chance to bring your own personal stories to life, but for every woman featured through your submissions, SCA will acknowledge them as well through a donation of 1 Euro to the World Wildlife Federation.
The Amazing Women Everywhere mosaic will be displayed on www.teamsca.com/awemosaic, as well as on a video well at each port the team stops.
I submitted my photo of Grandma Judy and I would love for you to submit a photo and nominate the special, amazing women in your life too!
It's quite simple to do, just follow these steps:
Visit the TEAM SCA Photo Mosaic and upload a photo of the woman you want to nominate. You can do this by uploading a photo from your phone or computer, or connect with them through Facebook, Instagram or Google+ to upload their profile photo.
You'll write a bit about why you think they're amazing and how they inspire you and submit. It's that simple!
You can see this beautiful mosaic and read about all of the inspirational women behind it here, and don't forget to like the Team SCA Facebook Page to show this incredible team your support!
SCA believes that everyone should have the opportunity to live life to the fullest, and we are committed to creating value for people and nature. To champion these ideals, SCA launches Amazing Women Everywhere, to celebrate women who have a positive impact on others.
The women of SCA's all-female racing team, Team SCA, exemplify this spirit. They have come from all walks of life and backgrounds to take on one of the world's most challenging endeavors, the Volvo Ocean Race. For nine months, their journey of hard work and determination will inspire millions around the world. Follow along with Team SCA on Facebook!
We aim to gather thousands of stories from all over the world and inspire thousands more by illustrating that amazing women truly are everywhere. Visit http://www.teamsca.com/awemosaic to submit a photo of an amazing woman in your life.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of SCA. The opinions and text are all mine.
