We’ve combined our website and blog into one here on WordPress. This is our first post in our new online environment.
A few days ago, I saw a young woman on a small motorized scooter at the mall. She and her girl friend were going in to Starbucks for some refreshments. They were laughing and obviously having a good time. It struck me that as girls together, about seventeen years old, others could see them as they are, a couple of friends on an outing. How different it would have appeared, if the girl on the scooter, was with her mother or father. The dynamic would have sent a different message.
A while back I saw a stage play in Morristown, NJ where the central character was a young woman in a wheelchair. The play was well done and I was riveted by the intricate plot. I was so convinced that this woman was a wheelchair user, that I was dumbfounded when at the end of the play, she stood up and walked across the stage to take her curtain calls.
Preconceptions and stereotypes shape our view of others and the lesson here is perhaps, we should not rush to judge others, but allow reality to reveal truth.
Interestingly, my book “A Girl Like Me’ is set in Madison, NJ right next door.
Maggie Malone went into college administration because a friend had gotten her an interview at a university. It was a good fit for a young woman with an outstanding college record. The prizes she’d won helped her get the job. Perhaps others should consider the possibilities that exist other than teaching.