Before you exit this post, I promise it has a point. I’ve mentioned many times about how important mentorship is and how influential it is in my life. This past weekend I was working as an assistant to a cotillion class (it’s a southern ettiquite, dance thing) , as I do every month. Their assignment was to write a thank you note (to anyone in thier life) and turn it in the following class. So I was working and collecting their notes when one of the envelopes said “Maggie”. I opened it and was super emotional. The girl who write the note gave me a hug after class and let’s just say my heart grew fourty billion times.

I’m in a cycle of business and challenges. I’ll fill you in more on what has been going on sometime later but this season of life has been a challenge. So recieving a sweet unexpected note from a random girl who I only interacted with a handful of times was a huge reminder that everything I do has impact. Later on my grandma called me to tell me she loved me & thank me for helping her out then my heart grew even more. So in this season, whatever season of life you may be in, thank people. (& yes you can call me out for being cheesy in this post but I haven’t been sappy in awhile so we all can deal with it)

So in this season of busy challenges I’m thanking the women in my life who have been so important to the building blocks of Maggie. Obviously I can’t include everyone but, hey I’m trying.

To the first woman I’ve ever known – Mumma // If there was anyone to gave me the gift of being passionate it was you. Thank you for loving me, leading me and laughing with me regardless of my messy room or on-edge attitude. I could write pages about how influential my mom is in my life but I’m going to stop before I write a novel.

To the women so great they get the title “grand” – Granny (Dad’s Mother) & Grammy (Mom’s mother) // Both women: sharp and confident, inspire me in different ways but regardless, have taught me memorable things (specifically chocolate sauce and the best places to shop for makeup… priorities.)

To the teachers // There have been many influential teachers in my life, but I’m lucky to have became incredibly close with a handful throughout middle and highschool. My middle school student council leader, who was the first, in an educational setting, to see my love for social media and encouraging others, who let me lead the school’s Twitter account and create an entire positivity project. The highschool teachers, who spend hours editing my papers, allow endless questions and embrace my sarcastic humor, I’m so grateful. If there is one thing I’ll really miss about highschool: the relationships I’ve grown with my teachers.

To the older girls – Chris, Sammy, Marley, Grace and so so so many others (that I don’t want to leave out) // Nervous freshman year me decided to do theater tech as a way to make friends at my new school. Plot twist: three years later I’m still managing costumes and won’t be giving it up any time soon. Being “costume girl” set me apart from any of my younger techies, I spent time working one on one with each member of cast regardless if they were the “big girls”. Today I consider the “big kids” to be my closest friends, who I still check up on while they are in college.

To the camp counselors at Camp Huckins – Specifically, Becca Fallon but anyone else who lead me // From ages 8 to 15 I was blessed with older girls who acted as a “big sister” to me. Those girls, especially my first ever, Becca, I still follow on social media to this day, taught me a variety of things: how to make a banana boat, swamping canoes or winning 1st place in the lip synch. Most important however, their selflessness. If you couldn’t sleep at night? They were right there next to you. If you were homesick? they hugged you. If you finally, after six years, passed your swim test? They were cheering you on. Looking back they seemed old but really, majority seventeen to ninteen selflessly lead young me for two weeks straight.

To the teenage assitants I watched at cotillion // Now this one may seem random, but at cotillion classes there are teachers assistants (what I am) and I always looked up to them, mostly because they knew how to dance while fifth grade me awkwardly flopped around. Today I don’t remember the first tall teenage girls names but I remember them patiently teaching me the steps and passing out punch. Later on some of those girls helped me to teach the classes when I started out and have passed down the baton to me which I now lead.

To the ladies who don’t know they are mentors – Lara Casey & Hannah Brencher // I absolutely adore these two ladies for their openness about life on social media. Never, ever, ever, have I rolled my eyes over the “cheesy”-ness of their content despite being powerhouse women driven by loving others and their faith.

To my big sister who isn’t actually my big sister –  Kels // There are those people in your life that even though you don’t see eachother daily or text 24/7, they are always there and when you finally reunite, nothing has changed. That is Kels, who I met in New York City the summer before highschool, then learned she lived in my town and would be attending UNC. Kels, who looks like she could actually be my sister (we get questions about it all the time) listens to ALL of the details of my life, is the first person I text when major life things happen and gives the best advice. Oh and she’s the most well spoken person I know.

If you didn’t realize, this post was supposed to be shorter with each “blurb” being 2-3 sentences. But I could gush all day about how inspiring these women are. It sounds cheesy but without the women in my life (& guys too, can’t forget my dad, brother & grandpas!!!)  I would not be the girl I am today. I do realize this is all super sappy. I know. I know. But that’s ok.