Girls, in a world where we have many women in the spotlight to inspire us. . .
You know when you order a special coffee and first take the top off so it will cool. There’s this decadent froth that sits on top that has transferred over and onto the lid. It is this dreamsicle of foamy milk with a slight flavor of coffee and whatever sweet heavenly goodness your barista added. Or maybe the first winter’s day where you can smell snow in the air. The windows have frosted into little wonderlands of ice crystals and frozen snowflakes that remind you of times when you were little and would whisper your warm breath on the glass to make your own smiley face. Really, all those times when you were little, and everything seemed bigger than they were and so exciting you could hardly sleep. Remember how even a dark stairway gave you goosebumps to even think of walking down by yourself because, oh my goodness, the boogey-man was waiting for you at the bottom. Ohhhh, yes! That intense exhilaration. That feeling of being young and enjoying a sleep-over, milk that remains on your upper lip into a moustache, or even a stairway filled with excitement, fear, and wonder.
All of that mixed into one human being with a heart of gold, a soul that praises continuously, and a smile that is as soft as a southern lullaby. . .
That would be Miss Katie.
I met Katie through mutual college friends that I had adopted, well at least in my head, as my own. Oh really, it’s okay, they know this! How can a middle-aged woman go back to university and not adopt a bunch of 20-year-old, fresh faced, precious and scared young adults? Well, I find it nearly impossible. Now, our Katie, she was someone I was fond of before I even laid eyes on her. Her charm preceded her and for plenty of fine reasons. When Katie walks into a room, everyone knows she is there. You don’t have to look up to see she is physically in the room. You just know. Katie is like a thousand lady bugs flying around on a spring day with a laugh, or should I say a quiet giggle, that makes her tear up and cry. This phenomenal giggle invites everyone around her to laugh without knowing the punch line yet. It’s as contagious as a yawn, but far more enjoyable. Katie possesses a loveliness in which I can imagine my late Grandmother had in the 1940’s. Remember those beautiful black and whites of our grandparents where they’re dressed up as if a celebration was about to occur, only to find out, this was the everyday fashion of the day? It’s that timeless, classy without question, refinement that some are just born with. Miss Katie, oh heavens, yes, she was born with it all right, but through time, she’s perfected it.
Here we are, in the year 2020. It’s hard to even comprehend that, or at least it is to me. Two thousand and twenty! It just sounds so futuristic and far away. Today, we see women all over the world with different styles, different attitudes, and various multitudes of grace and distinction. In 2020 here in the South, as women, we can become almost anything we want to be. We have "come a long way, baby," but with still more of our journey to go. But when I think about all the choices we have now, all the freedoms, and everything women fought so hard for and still currently do… (gasp) . . . Well, when you get to the place as a young adult, you have all of these choices of how to live, how to carry yourself, how to present yourself, and you can create precisely who you want to be. As an emerging adult, a woman, and just a decent human being, make sure to choose the best and the highest standard you were born to become. Really, quite simply put: When you decide who God designed you to be, who you were born to be, and who will make history in the year 2020, my dear young women of tomorrow. . .
Always, and most unequivocally,
BE A KATIE.
