I have been very fortunate to grow up with very strong women in my family. They each have had their own struggles, stories, and lessons to get them to where they are now but fortunately for me, I get to have the best teachers. I have always looked up to each woman below for many different reasons but some of the best lessons I learned on how to handle life is from these 3 women. Everyone should experience their quirkiness like I do.

Nana Phyl

What a woman. One of my fondest memories of Nana Phyl is always watching her help Mom cook for various holiday meals. Nana was also always reading books, and they were huge too and I always wondered how in the world anyone could read that much. But through the years, one of the greatest lessons I learned from my nana is passion. She always shows passion in everything she does and for others. She took care of both of her husbands when they became sick and always showed how to be selfless. She taught me to put others before me, but to also be passionate about my life and my dreams. She taught me to never stop learning or exploring, to put 100% in everything I do and to love every second.

Nana Buffalo

Strength. She made me believe I could do anything and I have the strength and power to accomplish my dreams. I like to think since we have the same birthday, we have some voodoo magic between us, or as my dad likes to say just the crazy in both of us. She is one tough cookie. After learning about her life, I can only imagine the amount of strength this woman has and I can only be proud to have her genes.

Mom

I have learned a lot from my mom and we may not get along every single day, but we are learning this mother-daughter relationship as we go. One of the strongest, smartest, caring women I know. From the many years of being under her wing, one of the greatest lessons is how to take care of yourself. Whether it deals with nutrition and exercise to mental health to emotional support, my mom is the biggest asset to keeping me sane and healthy. Thanks for all the many trips to the track to walk, run or skate, many experimental meals that have usually turned out well and letting me vent about the most abstract issues.

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To all the strong women out there, you are all an inspiration and keep pushing.