March is International Women’s History Month! I prefer “Her-story” month, of course. With that in mind, on this Woman Crush Wednesday, I give you five women that I enjoy, appreciate, and aspire to emulate. These are all modern women that I do not know personally, but think are amazing. I’m adding this clarification so I don’t have to give a ten-paragraph essay on why I love my mom.
That’s the Mother’s Day entry right there.
1. Demi Lovato – Demi Lovato is a musician, actress, and mental health advocate. She first rose to popularity when I was a tween and I was a total “Lovatic.” I loved her music and her personality. I always felt like I didn’t fit the standard preppy mold, so seeing her rock Converse and a bomber jacket made me feel cool… and want a bomber jacket. I finally got one last year. Dreams come true. She has been open about her struggles with her own mental health. She went to rehab when I was a junior in high school, but not long after that she began a six-year streak of sobriety. Unfortunately, the people she trusted to keep her safe didn’t do that great a job, and she relapsed and returned to rehab two years ago. She’s since returned to acting with a recurring role on “Will and Grace” (and an upcoming movie called Eurovision with Will Ferrell), and has announced an album, from which she’s released two brutally honest tracks about her life. She is smart, talented, and honestly, funny in a way that only a person who is fully aware of herself can be. I will personally body guard her and pounce on anyone who tries to ruin her day.
“I Love Me” by Demi Lovato via GIPHY
2. Allie Michelle – Allie Michelle is twenty-three and already making a name for herself. She started her journey as a yoga instructor, but has since published two books of poetry and started her own sustainable clothing line. She publishes her journey around the world in Bali, Greece, and all those Eat, Pray, Love places that one girl you went to high school with went to and you look at her Instagram photos and think “Maybe I should go there… flights are eighteen hundred dollars?!” I admire her free spirit, grace, and wisdom.
3. Mindy Kaling – What? Me? A fan of “The Office?” Yes. Mindy Kaling wrote an off the walls off-Broadway play about the lives of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as they were living in Boston, trying to become actors and writers with her close friend Brenda Withers. It got enough buzz to land Mindy in the office of Greg Daniels, who placed her into the writing staff of the first season of the NBC reboot of “The Office.” Her job quickly became both behind and in front of the camera as audiences developed an affinity for her as the perky Customer Service employee Kelly Kapoor. She published her first book “Is Everyone Having Fun Without Me? and Other Concerns” when I was in college, and I believe I read it all in one sitting (or at the very least, read half of it, let college destroy me for two weeks, and then visited the second half in one sitting). Her second book is called “Why Not Me?” where she details her life post-“The Office” as a woman in Hollywood. The title of the book comes from a question she was asked about her confidence, and how she could believe in herself. She prescribes in the book to work hard, be smart, be brave, and believe you deserve it. That’s my edict to success, thanks to her.
4. Jameela Jamil – A teacher turned Radio 1 Host turned actress turned feminist advocate. True, the majority of her fans fell in love with her as Tahani in “The Good Place.” Now that she has a bit of a platform, she regularly speaks on social justice reform for women, people of color, and people with disabilities. She has been open about her privilege as a slender, traditionally beautiful woman, and is always encouraging body neutrality, a movement in which you do not even consider how you look and instead focus on the things that actually matter: being happy. She has started an Instagram account/mental health movement based on this mentality called #iweigh. She believes photoshopping should be illegal and regularly calls out social influencers for advertising appetite suppressants and detox teas. I genuinely enjoy her as a person. She believes that progress is about learning and relearning what is okay to do and believe in terms of the disenfranchised. She has said that now that she’s put it out there in the world, it’s time to put it into legislation. I’m all on board with less Facetune making me feel terrible about myself. Let’s do it.
5. Tina Fey – This woman. Will never. NOT. be on my Woman Crush Wednesday list. SNL head writer, actress, and yes, created “30 Rock” based loosely on her experiences at SNL. People often hail “30 Rock” as one of the greatest television shows of all time. They are not wrong. She is what made me want to work in TV, work at NBC, and thanks to her and maybe Sarah Palin, I stopped feeling like a total uggo in glasses. Thank you, Tina, for paving the way for all of us. And for showing me that wide-frame glasses are a thing. This is a scene from “30 Rock,” in an episode that she did not write, but did win an Emmy for her performance. I suspect it was entirely for 1:35 – 2:20.
I’m so grateful for these, smart, accomplished game-changers. There are many others that I did not mention (GAL GADOT. THIS IS TARGETED AT GAL GADOT) that are equally incredible. Thank you for inspiring me.