Impossibly long. That's what the day was. Yet, somehow, I'm writing so the long ended and the impossible became possible.
I managed to read a chapter in Shonda Rhimes Year of Yes How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person. She has her Dartmouth commencement speech in it. Honest, brutal, funny, and very, very real. I won't copy and paste the entire thing, but I'll include a link when I find it.
If you aren't familiar with Shonda Rhimes, you may know her from some of her work on television - she's the creator of Grey's Anatomy, and Scandal. She's a highly successful woman in a career field dominated by men. She's impacted the way story is presented in television.
Rhonda is also a powerful introvert. Painfully so, She is/was so terrified of public speaking that when she went on Jimmy Kimmel Live she had them videotape it.
Her sisters told her she always said "no" and asked her to try "yes", and she did. She realized she had a lot of opportunities like being on Oprah or Jimmy Kimmel that a lot of other people didn't have. So many doors had been opened for her that she hadn't walked through.
She learned to stand like Wonder Woman. She encouraged me to stand like Wonder Woman, and I did.
Try it. Stand like Wonder Woman, or Superman. Your back will be straight, your shoulders back and your head held high. Do it for a few minutes in front of a mirror, every day. Tell yourself, "I am Wonder Woman (or Superman)."
Amazing the confidence such a simple thing inspires.
I get that image. I will be Wonder Woman, some day, some how.
And now, Shonda's speech.
