The Influence of Strong Women

To my great-grandmother:

I can only remember meeting you once in my life. Yet the memory of meeting you is forever vividly etched in my mind. Your daughter, my grandmother, introduced me to you – I was (and still am) overwhelmed by your beauty and grace. You exuded a formidable strength and an elegant resilience that are an inspiration to me: I have prayed to be endowed with your elegance. You endured hardships and challenges: Due to Jim Crow laws you and your siblings lost hundreds of acres of land inherited from your parents. You had to flee your birth state with your young family because of the threat of death. Yet you never lost your sense of hope or your kind and gentle nature. Your love and care for your family, and your unwavering faith in God, have made an indelible impression on me.

You are the epitome of grace and elegance. Of course, you inherited those qualities from your mother, my great-grandmother. Your warm smile, embracing laughter, and gentle spirit illuminated every room you entered. I am filled with emotions as I reflect on your enduring kindness and compassion you showed me, even when I didn’t love myself and made many mistakes.

As I reflect on my fondest memories, I am transported back to Ninth and Howard Streets in San Francisco, where you and Mr. Frank (my step-granddad) lived. I vividly recall the aroma of roasting peanuts filling the house, which gave me a warm and safe feeling.

I also cherish the memories of you bathing my sister and me, wrapping us in big towels, and then sent us off running down the hallway of the Victorian flat to sit in front of the fireplace. I would become mesmerized by the dancing fire as you combed my freshly shampooed hair.

God gifted me the honor of being born on your birthday – August 08th. I hope to embody the same beauty and grace that you possessed. Thank you for being my grandmother!

Dearest Mother, Your life is an enduring example of boundless love, and your unwavering faith in God are lessons I will forever glean from. Your compassionate mannerisms taught me what it truly means to be a good person. You have sacrificed so much for my siblings and me, yet you always made each one of us feel loved and cherished.

One of my most enduring memories is when you would tell me the story of the little ugly duckling. I remember how you would draw on paper each important moment of the story as you told the story: it was a synergy of hearing and seeing. How beautifully you would depict the transformation of the ugly duckling into an elegant swan. Most of the time, you would use the theme of the ugly duckling, but make it about a little girl who felt she was ugly until she saw her reflection and realized how beautiful she truly was. I knew I was that little girl. Your drawings, as you told, and re-told the story, taught me about self-acceptance and the beauty of being true to oneself.

Your love for God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit has always been a guiding post for me. Mother, you never gave up despite disappointments and hardships – your strength was boundless.

I love you and miss you so very much.