A Pioneer Woman, Today

During this month of July, I've been thinking a lot about Pioneer Day, which is July 24th. Here in Utah, it's a big holiday that celebrates the many pioneers that made Utah possible. It's celebrated in Fourth-of-July style, with fireworks, food, parades, stories of faith and bravery, and lots of kids dressed in clothes from the 1800s. It's supposed to be super fun (this is my first Utah Pioneer Day, so I haven't experienced it yet), and I'm looking forward to enjoying it! 

Although the word "pioneer" often conjures up images of mighty voyages and cross-country travel, a pioneer is anyone who does something that's never been done before- that leaves a trail, physical or ethereal, for others to follow.

As a woman living in the twenty-first century, I've often felt like a pioneer. Sure, there's nothing terribly unique about my life choices, but the context within which I make my life choices has changed drastically.

Never before in the history of the world have I had so many options available to me as a woman. 

I could run for political office. 

Become a engineer. 

Raise ten children, or two or three.

Travel the world. 

Get a PhD. 

Start my own business. 

Cure some social problem.  

Write a textbook.

Fly an airplane. 

I really have almost limitless options to choose from. Granted, not everything on that list is appealing to me, nor is everything on it equally easy to acheive. But my point is that some woman somewhere pioneered the way so that I could have the chance to choose, to decide for myself who I want to become.

Yet, despite these well-worn trails that many a woman has left for me, I still feel like I am trailblazing my own path in the wilderness. 

How many kids I have, if I choose to stay home with them, how long I choose to stay home with them, how I balance family and work life, how I balance multiple dreams and multiple responsibilities, how I leave a legacy for the generations after me to follow- it's all up to me. 

My life will leave a well-worn trail of something that's never been done before. 

Something unique. 

Something messy. 

Something twisty and windy with lots of switchbacks. 

Something dirty and dusty and long. 

Something beautiful.

This pioneer holiday, I hope we can all think about the ways we can be a pioneer in our own generation, and especially how we can support the girls and women in our families as they decide what it is they want to do with their lives. No matter who we are, we can be pioneers in changing the way we speak of other's life choices to be more loving and inclusive. 

To support the pioneering stay-at-home moms who are raising children in a generation unlike any other before it. 

To support the pioneering small business owners who balance mom life and boss life- well, like a boss.

To support the pioneering doctors and nurses and researchers who save lives on the daily. 

To support the pioneering early childhood and elementary educators who spend all day with "their" kids. 

To support every woman in their journey to be a pioneer. 

Musings on Family History

Goooooood evening everybody! I am finally back, on this last day of January, with my arms full of New Year's Eve resolutions to write more and create more. I thank you all for supporting me on my journey.

One thing I've been thinking a lot about is family history. I'm not very good at it. I like reading stories and exploring the different sides of my family tree, but I'm definitely no expert. In fact, I must confess that I spend half my time on Family Search praying I don't accidentally delete someone off of my family tree. I don't want that hanging on my conscious in the next life.

So if I'm not performing any swash-buckling feats on Family Search, why even bother?

1.) Family history grounds me: There's something comforting about seeing myself surrounded by a little of network of individuals who came before me. It reminds me that the mortal experience I am going through right now is temporary. Someday soon, I, too, will be a reduced to a tiny little clickable box on a Family Search screen. This knowledge helps me put my trials in perspective and reminds me of my purpose here on Earth. 

2.) Knowing my roots gives me tolerance: There's something about family stories that help us connect with other people. Stories in general are powerful because they resonate with and connect us to our own lived experiences. In fact, I believe that stories are reauthored every time they are read because every reader brings with them a different lens of understanding and experiences (This concept is often referred to as transactional reader theory, but I'll save you the nerdy details). 

As such, learning about our ancestors' experiences helps us expand our vision and understanding of the world around us. If we learn about an ancestor's desperate struggle to immigrant to America, for example, we might view a modern-day immigrant's experience in a different light than previously. 

3.) Reading others' stories gives me hope: Often, I am tempted to myopically assume that my life is so terribly hard, and that no one understands what I am going through. Although to some degree, no one, besides Jesus Christ, can really understand eeeeverything I go through, it's comforting to read about ancestors who actually went through remarkably similar difficulties. One of my favorite examples is the story of Alice Keeler. Alice's husband died and left her to care for her children alone. At great personal and familial sacrifice, she went to college (at BYU, no less) and got a degree in teaching. She taught at a local school for a few years before beginning a new career. I love hearing this story because it reminds me that as I seek to navigate personal, familial, and educational goals, there are many women in my family who had to struggle with the exact same thing.

 

Whelp, that about does it for Kaila musings today. I want to know: what does your family's history and culture mean to you?