A couple of things happened recently that caused a collision of memory and admiration. 

First, I heard the news of the death of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Secondly, I listened to a podcast interview with Sarina Wiegman, the Dutch football manager of England’s women’s national team. 

I have the utmost respect for both of these women and sincerely believe this world has been made better by their integrity, perseverance, and especially the example they set for women and girls. What struck me, when I thought about the barriers they crossed and the successes they enjoyed, was how very few women were part of the narrative of history when I was a child, and how it makes me happy to see that changing. 

Throughout school, all of our Social Studies books told the story of history from a slanted perspective. We read about the Founding Fathers, a British king, and the lawyer and amateur poet who penned our national anthem. There were explorers who sailed the seas in search of riches, adventurers who headed west, a string of male presidents, two brothers and their aviation invention, and a band of Bostonians who tossed tea into the Atlantic. We learned about the bravery and courage of the soldiers during the Civil War, men who walked on the moon, and one who marched for freedom and gave a rousing speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The pages were full of determination, dedication, and a country’s destiny told from the point of view of the men. 

And every now and then, there would be a page or two about a woman who made an impact and managed to find her way into the history books. 

A quick recollection brings up a handful of names: Pocahontas, Clara Barton, Sacajawea, Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart, and Eleanor Roosevelt. I’d argue that the impact these women had on the success of our nation was equal in measure to the men, if not as often recognized or celebrated. Furthermore, there were undoubtedly countless other women who contributed just as much and were left out of the history books altogether.  

It would be easy to allow myself to dwell on their exclusion, and decide to be bitter about the role models I didn’t get to see when I was a child. Or, I could rejoice that each year that has passed has brought more and more stories of women who blazed a trail and became beacons of light for little girls everywhere. 

In 1981 Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman ever appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Since then, a total of six women have served, four of them still serving today. I could probably name five women I learned about in my fifth-grade textbook, now more than that have sat on the Supreme Court bench. And, nearly any little girl in this country could recognize herself in one of them, and know she too could dream that dream.

Fifth grade also brought about my love of soccer, and the dream to play on a team. But, as with many sports, girls didn’t play back then, at least not in my school. Girls weren’t allowed to play in Sarina Wiegman’s school either. So, she did the best thing she could think of: She cut her hair short and joined her twin brother on the pitch. Fast forward nearly 50 years and she has played college soccer, won a Dutch championship, served as the first woman to coach for a Dutch professional team, and managed the Netherlands for the 2020 Olympics. Now she is the England manager, leading a team of young women who never had to wonder if girls could play soccer. 

These days it can be so easy to get discouraged, looking out at the world and all of the heartbreak happening. It would be a piece of cake to convince ourselves that it’s a pretty hopeless situation. 

But, I challenge you to look back at what may have been missing when you were a child, whether it was representation in a sport, profession, or between the pages of a book. Then ask yourself what, and who, you see now.  

Maybe experience your own collision of memory and admiration, and see what happens.