What I've learned by identifying my heros

Writing about my heros (which you can find at the bottom of this post) was indeed revelatory. Here's why:

1) I was surprised by how much my heros have changed over time -- from Bewitched's Samantha to Peggy Noonan?

2) It was also interesting to observe that my childhood heros were imaginary. A reminder just how much children identify with the imaginary, magical world. I wonder too if I over-agonize about the quantity of television my children consume. I clearly watched television as a child, yet most would consider me a contributing member of society.

Who were your heros as a child? Who are they today? How have they changed?

2) My heros have played a greater role in who I've become than I would have predicted prior to this exercise.

Example A: The fact that I so admired Samantha and Shirley Partridge as a young girl makes it a lot less surprising that I care about mothering well, my many years of "not wanting to have kids yet" notwithstanding.

Given your current vantage point, anything about your childhood heros that surprises you?

Example B: I'm rather astonished that my interest in attending UCLA was piqued because of their cheerleaders; were it not for a providential fluke, I would be a UCLA graduate. Which leads me to wonder what other decisions I've made on the basis of who I admire. Perhaps more importantly, why did I admire them in the first place?

What about you? Any decisions that you've made that now surprise you given how little forethought went in to the decision?

Example C: If I consider a cheerleader a metaphor for a hero of support, I've observed that in some aspects of my life I've internalized this role so thoroughly, it has actually been problematic as I've pursued my career. Sometimes you can be too good at something.

3) On the premise that my childhood heros have helped shape who I've become, I am consequently hopeful that I can become like my current heros, whether Peggy Noonan, Laura Laviada, Galadriel, or India.Arie. That I can, in fact, successfully undergo Psyche's journey, learning to be the ship AND the harbor, the hero of support AND the hero.

Who are your heros today?
What do they tell you about what you are hoping to accomplish?
Who and how you want to be?

****

Below is what I wrote for Matt Langdon's Heros Interviews:

My hero as a young girl was Samantha on Bewitched. She was pert, adorable, and no matter what kind of tangle she found herself in, she could make things better with a wiggle of her nose. I also idolized Shirley Jones, who played the mother in The Partridge Family with whom I became even more enamored when I saw her as the ingénue in the film Oklahoma. As an eight year-old, it was magical to see that the same person could be a mother and ingénue.

In high school, my heros were pretty, popular, feminine cheerleaders. So much so that UCLA became my top college pick because I loved watching their song girls perform whenever they played Stanford in football (my father took us to Stanford football games every fall from the time I was 7-8 years old). Footnote: Stanford was actually my top choice, but I was on the waiting list, whereas I was accepted to UCLA.

My heros today are women who successfully embark on Psyche’s journey: they’ve learned to say no, to exercise choice, to achieve goals without throwing their caring and compassionate selves under the bus. In other words, I see all of these women as living in a both/and world.

These heros include: Peggy Noonan, a Wall Street Journal columnist who made her name as a speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, Laura Laviada, the former CEO and major shareholder of Editorial Televisa, Mexico’s largest magazine publisher (and who I had the privilege of interacting with when I covered the stock Televisa (NYSE: TV), Galadriel in Lord of the Rings, and India.Arie, a musician-singer-songwriter who it would appear loves Stevie Wonder’s music even more than I do. Until very recently, I would have also included Sydney Bristow, the fictional lead in the television show Alias.

Comments

[Matt Langdon]

Another interesting question in relation to your point number 3 is who is looking at you as a hero and how are you shaping them as they grow up? How much consideration do you give your role as a hero to others? That's a question that can keep you up at night.

[Barbara]

Your entry on heroes made me think. When I read it I can honestly say I did not know I had gathered up so many people during my 65 years that I admired. I too wanted the perfect house like the one I saw in the very first soap opera (One Life to Live) but I also knew that education was my ticket to a fruitful and fulfilled life.

I invite you to look at my post called Heroes. I just published it today.

b

Thank you for the nudge.

[Barbara]

Your entry on heroes made me think. When I read it I can honestly say I did not know I had gathered up so many people during my 65 years that I admired. I too wanted the perfect house like the one I saw in the very first soap opera (One Life to Live) but I also knew that education was my ticket to a fruitful and fulfilled life.

I invite you to look at my post called Heroes. I just published it today.

b

Thank you for the nudge.

[Barbara]

Your entry on heroes made me think. When I read it I can honestly say I did not know I had gathered up so many people during my 65 years that I admired. I too wanted the perfect house like the one I saw in the very first soap opera (One Life to Live) but I also knew that education was my ticket to a fruitful and fulfilled life.

I invite you to look at my post called Heroes. I just published it today.

b

Thank you for the nudge.

[Blue]

i was introduced to the whole "hero's journey" concept by my younger sister a few years back when i attended a lecture she gave at CSLB. it blew me away that she was able to teach and inspire in such depth for 90 minutes on a subject i hadn't ever even *heard* of.

her attempt to mollify me was centered on the fact that she has spent about twice as long as me in school, and, being single the past 20 years while i've been married and raising my family has given her (in her words) "a lot more time to devote to learning about things such as this."

i'm grateful for people who use their "extra" time to think about and share ideas that enrich the lives of others. you do that really well Whitney (albeit i don't think you have "extra time" in your life. i still haven't figured out how your type does it!)