What were your dreams as a child? Did you know what you wanted to be, and did that conviction stay with you? Most of us find that life takes us in different directions as the years go by and our circumstances and interests shift. But for some determined youngsters, nothing can stop them in their chosen path.
Tssfacts was one such kid. This girl was so certain that she wanted to be a nurse that, at the tender age of 11, she had a letter published in the famous Ann Landers advice column in which she asked how to go about it. The advice she received that day was to be a first step on a long and rewarding career journey.
I can't help but think it would be a wonderful thing if all children could have such a sense of who they wanted to be, and the determination and support to follow through with their dreams. But life has a way of stepping in and for every young person like Towanda there will be several more who will drift or will be tripped up by unexpected events.
A teenage pregnancy is surely one of the most life-altering events that can happen to a young woman. Today society is generally much more accepting of unwed mothers and thankfully there is far less of a stigma too on their children. After all, babies have no choice in their birth circumstances. Yet there was a time when a young pregnant woman without a husband would be disowned by her family or forced to give up her baby. Her child would be branded as 'illegitimate', which carried a lifelong burden of shame.
Fortunately, there have been champions of these women and their children. One of the greatest was Edna Gladney, a woman whose legacy has inspired and influenced Towanda in her own vocation to help unwed mothers. Towanda shares this remarkable story in My Tribute to Edna Gladney. She also tells us about her own experiences working in the Edna Gladney Home (now Gladney Center) in Fort Worth, Texas. This facility, which originally existed to find homes for orphans, has evolved into a maternity hospital with living accommodation, a full range of educational and recreational programs, and of course continues to match babies to adoptive parents.
Not only did Towanda fulfill her own childhood dream in her work at the Edna Gladney Home, but she played a part in ensuring young mothers and their children did not lose their opportunities to follow a dream either.
Visit: My Tribute to Edna Gladney
What a wonderful review of a remarkable article. Never having heard of Edna Gladney, it was uplifting to read about such a loving woman.
ReplyDeleteVery nice review. It is a special, special story of a remarkable woman.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was struck too by the way TSSfacts knew herself at such a young age. What a remarkable story, of her own life, and that of Edna Gladney.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up, WordCustard. Beautifully written - per usual.
ReplyDelete