“REI interviewed a number of young women and found out most of them said that they had no mentors, no examples of older women living an out-loud life”
I absolutely agree with this (and I get what you/they are saying, but I’d argue we don’t even need to add the qualifier of “older!”)
I’ve always struggled with the “mentor” question because there are so few women (regardless of age!) living (and/or aspiring to live) the life and values that I want. I love my mom, I respect women who achieve what they want (whatever that is), and I admire women who do remarkable things (Elspeth Beard, Anna Sewell, Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, Madame Clicquot, Erin Brockovich being a few…) but there aren’t many I’d point to and say, “yeah, that’s what I want!”
So, to totally fangirl in response, I will say: you’re not just an awesome “older” woman — you are an awesome woman (with a very refreshing viewpoint on age) and someone I’ve already added to my lil list of women I think are cool. So… rock on, sister.
