Empowered

Tonight, I feel empowered. There come moments in time when you have to do what is right for yourself- when you have to listen to the voice that tells you things are wrong, that you deserve better, that you are worth more. These moments can be big and significant or small but still significant. Even when it hurts, you have to stand up for yourself- because when the pain eases and you know you've done the right thing- it is empowering. Sometimes it takes me a little time to do what is right for myself- I'm still working on that and I know I've made a few mistakes, but I am better now than I ever was before and I know that I can be better still.

Project Smile has empowered me- it has made me a stronger and more confident woman every year. I've always been strong and confident, I don't think that I could have started Project Smile full time without that, but as the years have gone by and we have grown- I have been empowered. Every day, I have to go out and fight for what I know Project Smile deserves- and although it is a far cry from a physical fight- running a non profit- particularly fundraising- and especially fundraising on your own is a demanding, tough, highly competitive job that is filled with hard knocks and can be downright brutal at times. It requires determination, patience, a tremendous amount of energy and passion and a wonderful ability to ignore the constant rejection. It's a job that when you do well at it- the satisfaction is beyond description and with that satisfaction, with the knowledge of how hard we have worked to get where we are today, comes a tremendous amount of empowerment.

It is so important to listen to the words that people say and the actions they take and it is also important to listen to the words that aren't said and the actions that are not taken. It is easy to want to reinterpret what others say or do in order to fulfill our personal desire for a particular outcome.

Well, I am tired- my eyes are hurting and I need to sleep. There is a lot more that happened today, but I'm starting to forget. So until tomorrow friends..