I have my mom to thank for being so confident

My mom works in the pharmaceutical industry as a project manager in drug research and development, which is a world primarily run by men. She has been working for the same company for almost 22 years and has survived a number of corporate reorganization by showing that she is an important asset to the company.

My mom worked in international business before switching to drug research and development. With her ambitious life goals my dad and I followed her wherever she went. I was born in China while my mom was on assignment for four years before moving to New York City for a year and then Connecticut for six years. We then made our way to the final destination (or so we think) in Southern California.

Right now, my mom is on a special assignment for six months as a Global Health Fellow working for Save the Children in the Philippines. She is 61 years old and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

My mom has always been a strong, independent, career-woman that I have always admired. With her constantly taking charge I grew up thinking that this was the norm. I never thought it was weird or different that my mom went to make the money and my dad stayed home to take care of me. It was the best situation that worked for my family and showed me that gender has no role in what your life could become. She wanted me to be able to depend on myself one day which is why I became a very independent child.

I grew up in a small town in Connecticut where everyone was the same. Not having the normal body type of all the others girls in elementary school was very hard. Standing out was not really an option so I tried to blend in with the crowd. I was not skinny like all the other girls; I had a butt, I had curves, and I needed to learn that there was nothing wrong with that. I was the tall, blonde girl who started wearing a training bra in fifth grade. My body was changing and developing faster than my peers which made me stick out like a sore thumb. She has shown me to appreciate that my body is different from my other peers.

My mom taught me to embrace my body, rather than feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.

I gained confidence slowly because of her throughout my teenage years. This didn’t happen overnight – it took years of learning to love myself. She taught me to be proud of who I was and to not let others define me. My mother has always told me to stand up for myself and others which requires confidence to do. I can be my weird, tall, curvy self and still make friends who love me for who I really am. I rarely let the options of others get under my skin because I am strong enough to know they are just words. When a person is mean to others it usually shows they have a lack of self-confidence. My own self confidence has made me a better person and has changed how I see others and the world.

I may not want to admit this all the time, but I’m so much more like my mom than I have ever realized. Watching my mom navigate through life has shown me that I can be a working mother too.

My mom has been the best example of what it means to be a confident business women. Without her guiding me into my young adult years I still would be very insecure. She has given me valuable lessons in how to love the body you have, how to be a hard worker, and that communication can solve a lot of problems.