courage

Thank You StormOne Originals, http://www.etsy.com/shop/stormone for letting me borrow your avatar for this blog, from the very first time I saw it I knew I had to write about her!

When I think of the term courage so many images come to mind. Usually it will involve something dramatic like the firefighters on 9-11 or Christopher Reeves in his wheelchair; but every once in a while I find an image that strikes the very center of my heart and adds a face to the word 'courage' This is Bessie Coleman.

Bessie's biography is on Wickopedia, and I wont bother to recite it here, because I want to dwell on that quiet determined face that is in the photo. Imagine how many times that woman was told 'NO'...no you cant because you are a woman, no you can't because you are black, young, poor...No No No...

And in her quiet determination she said 'oh yes I will' and went to France to earn her pilots license. In 1921 she became the first woman to hold a commercial pilots license. Think about that...think about the times and the determination it would take to push past all the hatred, the ignorance, and the fear to do something you love. I am humbled in the image.

The look on that face says it all, the quiet determination to follow your heart. The calm demeanor of knowing this is your destiny, good or bad, and following your dream...its all there on her face.

Bessie Colman, you are my hero.