Don't Be Afraid to be GREAT!

This evening, I had the opportunity to go see the film, "Hidden Figures," which is based on the true-life stories of three incredible women who were integral in the space movement during the early 1960s. As to not give a lot away (you can click on this link to read more about the real story behind these women "computers"), I won't give a full synopsis, but more of the impression the movie left on me after I saw it.

I left the theater a very satisfied viewer, not just because the movie was well written, the acting was good, and while it could be categorized as a drama, there was also some humor and a secondary romance storyline as well, but the story itself provided a much deeper message than "Girl Power."

The women had to not just overcome challenges and obstacles in their way because they were women, but also because of the color of their skin. There is a scene in the movie when one of the characters must go to court to petition a law that allows only white people to attend college classes that are held at a high school. As she is making her case to the judge, she brings up that to get to the point of here he is at in his career, he had to be a lot of "firsts." And that she too wanted to be the first to not just attend the classes, but to be NASA's first female African-American engineer.

I think that all of us at some point in our lives will be presented the opportunity to be the "first" at doing something. It may not be the first person to ever do that particular event, but maybe it is the first in your family, or the first for you. These women, while having every reason and excuse to NOT be something and do something great, didn't let that stop them. They persevered. They overcame. They achieved. So, next time it gets a little too hard to do something, I wonder what would have happened, or not happened, had these women done the same?

Don't Be Afraid to be GREAT!