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.