For International Women’s Day this year, it seemed only fitting for me to finally kick off my blog (that I have been talking about for a while) by writing about women who inspire me. This list was hard to truly narrow down, as there are women from all over who constantly do inspire me. Inevitably this list will probably expand in the future. To start though here are some who have inspired me up to this point:

Akemi

Akemi was one of my great instructors at NAIT. She inspires me through the art she herself creates and the conviction she moves through every day with. Not only for us as students, but for herself and her mom. Like most teachers, she is there to help inspire and guide her students as much as she can. She is constantly working to bring a wider experience to everyone around her.

Working with her throughout the last 2 years as a presenter has been truly inspiring. She strives to make her classes and the program the best that they can be, no matter the hurdles that she faces.

Goosen

Goosen was one of the first to put a camera in my hands and she continued to help grow the spark through my 4 years of high-school yearbook. In a sense, we learned photography together and it was filled with many experiments. She was there for us, her yearbook kidlets, in so many ways. She is such a wonderful lady who tries to help students succeed as much as she possibly can. Her teaching and photography interest is not the only way she inspires me though. The way she faces challenges both emotional and physical with a youthful spirit, but professional demeanour has been a wonderful reminder of the free spirits we can be. Getting to know her amazingly generous side during our late yearbook meetings is something I will forever cherish.

Write Like A Mofo Community

2 years back, at the end of the rodeo season, I decided I wanted to work on my writing skills. To start I attended an online workshop that Jach put on. I loved her spirit of just getting it down first and finessing later, so joined her Write Like A Mofo community. This small, but growing community is made up of women from all over the world. Getting to work alongside them on my own projects has helped me improve not only my writing but also my experience of the world. We don’t only talk about writing. There are discussions about managing life and energy and better business practices for anyone. This is a well rounded community that supports you no matter how big or small your progress is on your project list, because we have almost all been or will be in that spot.

I can only hope I get to meet some of these amazing women in person one day. Although we all work on different things, sometimes the best part is just knowing you have a positive place and other people to bounce ideas off of.

Lexi & Karla

What a mother/daughter duo! I cannot help but think of one now without the other. These two inspire me equally with their love for agriculture and their amazing bubbly personalities. Every time I get to spend time with them there is always at least a bit of lighthearted fun — even when things go completely sideways on them. They are both always trying to better the agriculture world however they can, whether that is through policy discussions or opening up their ranches and being a part of documentaries and studies. Most of all though, these women may be going a thousand directions to better this world, but they always take time to appreciate the small things too.

Kaitlyn

My sister is one wicked cook and artist herself. We may have very different tastes in style and entertainment, but we do still share our love of the arts and animals. She is also Piper’s special person, for those who have seen Piper in my social stories. My sister inspires me through her love of making. Anything she makes is always so artistic — from her decor to her cooking to her actual art. Everything she “plays with or whips up” has at least a pinch of artistic flare.

Mom

This list could not be complete without including my mom. She inspires me in so many ways, it is hard to get them all. A few ways she inspires me are through having her own successful accounting business, while being there for me and my 3 siblings and my dad in any way she can, and helping her clients truly understand their financial situations too. Seeing how she works with her clients while I worked with her has definitely inspired me to build my business to be what it is today. I have learned so much from her in this aspect. Getting to know her more as an adult in the last few years has only deepened the ways that she inspires me.

As you might be able to tell, most of these women are from completely different paths and besides some meeting my mom, most of them have never met each other. But they all show me in their own ways that life isn’t always easy, but when I need it, these women (even if they don’t know it) help me keep moving forward to be myself and better the world around me. Thank you ladies for all being who are — Inspiring Women!

Do you have any women who are huge inspirations for you?