Written by Louise Miolin – Country To Canberra Teen Blogger
Sipping on tea and buttery slice, my mother and two of her friends sit at the kitchen table. My mother is the youngest of the trio, all of them with children all-grown-up (except for me, of course, the baby by ten years). As they sit and discuss everything from government policies to books they’ve read, to half price Bonds at Woollies, I emerge from my bedroom and smile to myself, basking in the radiance of these well rounded, exceptional women.
In a world still under the influence of domineering patriarchal values, I think it’s fair to say that strong female role models are of huge importance. I feel so lucky when I consider the women in my life who have proved to me that femininity does not equate to weakness; who have embodied in me a belief in myself and my ability to be my best at whatever it is I want to do – whether that be a scientist, a teacher, a mother, an artist, all of the above and anything in between.
As I look around my kitchen and hear these women laughing, I consider how far they have all come. Raised by their city dwelling mothers in a time where the expectations of a western girl were far more rigid than they are today, they have shaken off restrictions and adventured far from home. Just like the Karri trees in our little rural town, they’ve formed strong roots and branched up and out. Between them, they’ve raised bundles of kids and grandkids, had hugely fruitful careers and overcome adversity in all shapes and sizes. They’ve found friendship with each other and within the community, and they’ve come to personify all the positives of rural life. These women are made of perseverance, of an aptitude to grow and learn, of humour, hard work, and love. They know how to be strong through softness, how to support, and how to lead.
It is with role models like these ones that we, the younger generation of country women, are able to achieve greatness. Often without realising it, they inspire us. They show us how to have a voice, and remind us that we matter. I sincerely hope that women like my mother and her friends realise just how important they are, and I know that all of their branches of kids, grandkids and friends scattered throughout the world – from rural Tasmania to Tokyo- are better people because of the immense strength embedded in them by their rural heroines.