Collegiettes, we’re almost done with the semester! Take a moment to revel in your accomplishments so far. We have one more week, and then we’re finished with papers, tests and homework (at least until Spring semester). Until that point, we’ve got to keep trudging along. I’ve compiled a list of the most influential women and their words of wisdom. Hopefully, this will inspire you to conquer that last mountain.
10. Christiane Amanpour
“And I believe that good journalism, good television, can make the world a better place.”
Christiane Amanpour was CNN’s chief international correspondent and now is the anchor of This Week on ABC News (and she’s one of my personal heroes). She began her career as an electronic graphic designer at a local news station and found her way to CNN in 1983. Christiane has reported on Iran, the Bosnian Crisis, Iraq, and many other international events.
9. Coco Chanel
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”
Where did the little black dress come from? Coco Chanel, of course! After her mother’s death, Coco was put into an orphanage. She was raised by nuns and taught to sew, which sparked her career as a famed fashion designer. In 1920 she launched her first perfume, Chanel No.5, and made an everlasting mark on the fashion industry.
8. Madonna
“Better to live one year as a tiger than a hundred as sheep.”
This Material Girl has sold over 300 million records and CDs to fans all across the world. She was born in Michigan but followed her dreams to New York City. Madonna is the classic triple threat: actor, dancer and singer.
7. Helen Keller
“Optimisn is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
At an early age Helen Keller was diagnosed with “brain fever” and shortly thereafter became both blind and deaf. She learned how to communicate using her hands to represent words. When Helen started to act unruly and throw tantrums, desperate for answers, her parents found a mentor, Anne Sullivan; thus began a forty-nine year teacher and student relationship that made history. Overcoming her disabilities, Helen eventually went on to graduate from college and become a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union.
6. Michelle Obama
“Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we’re scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don’t have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.”
She is known for being the First Lady of the United States, but Michelle’s resume is much more impressive than just that. Growing up, she shared the living room with her brother using a sheet as a room divider. Rising from the situation she grew up in, Michelle placed serious significance on education in her life, graduating from both Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Michelle also advocates for minority rights other social issues.
5. Mother Teresa
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
Known for being caring, gentle, and just plain saintly, Mother Theresa established a place to care for the disabled, blind, aged, and a leper colony. However, Mother Teresa’s generous heart was forged by heartbreak throughout her life, like the death of her father when she was young. Her mother instilled in her the importance of charity, and when called to action, Mother Theresa did not hesitate. She began her career of caring as Sister Mary Teresa and went on to become a modern-day saint.
4. Anne Frank
“How wonderful it is that nobody need to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
Anne Frank died at a young age in a Nazi Concentration Camp, but her optimism during her trials is to be admired. She and her family went into hiding for two years during World War II. At the age of fifteen, she and her family were found and sent to a concentration camp, where Anne later died. She recorded her experiences living as a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany in her diray, which went on to become a bestseller, granting her posthumous fame and giving the world insight into the horrors of World War II Germany.
3. Marilyn Monroe
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely beautiful.”
Marilyn Monroe was an actress, model, singer, and American sex symbol. She is admired to this day by women all around the globe for her talent and resilience against adversity. Growing up, Marilyn (then Norma Jeane Mortenson) was in and out of foster care, and she was reportedly sexually assaulted on several occasions. She wed at the age of sixteen to keep herself out of foster care, and divorced her husband four years later so that she could jump into her career. Despite ultimately developing a crippling drug addiction, Marilyn went on to be an incredibly successful model, actress, and singer until her untimely death in 1962.
2. Eleanor Roosevelt
“A women is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
Eleanor Roosevelt, the 39th First Lady of the United States, was an extraordinarily outspoken advocate for women’s issues and human rights. At an early age, Eleanor lost both of her parents within two years of each other. Encouraged to blossom as an independant thinker by her Headmistress at her finishing school near London, Eleanor transformed the role of First Lady and became one of the first public officials to use mass media to publicize the importance of civil rights.
1. Oprah Winfrey
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.”
Oprah Winfrey is the most influential person in the 21st century. She is extremely wealthy and has adoring fans all across the world. However, her life was not always great. Oprah was raised by a single teenage mother in an economically-troubled household. Her misfortunes multiplied when, at the age of nine, she was sexually abused; at thirteen, she ran away from home. After the death of her infant son, whom she had at fourteen, she focused on her education and attended high school then college at Tennessee State University. She was offered a position as a talk show host in Baltimore, and the rest is history.
Sources: Quote 1, Quote 2, Quote 3, Quote 4, Quote 5, Quote 6, Quote 7, Quote 8, Quote 9, Quote 10
Sources: Bio 1, Bio 2, Bio 3, Bio 4, Bio 5, Bio 6, Bio 7, Bio 8, Bio 9, Bio 10
Other: Picture 10