Hey everyone! Happy last ever passion blog post woohoo! Hope everyone is staying sane and healthy during this crazy time :). Let’s get on to the blog!

So, if you are new here, every week I dedicate my blog to a strong and empowering women who has been influential on the world. But, seeing this is the last blog, I thought I would change things up and share two women who have been very important in shaping who I am! So, this week I will be highlighting two amazing ladies who have taught me a lot of  lessons and have both inspired me so much.

The women of this week are: Maureen Mitchell (my mom) and Anne Flaherty (my grandma)

Honestly, I have no idea where to even start. The impact these women have had on my life is so immense I feel like I could go on forever talking about how grateful I am for the both of them. Collectively, both of these women have raised me with so much love and support. Starting with my grandma, she had a really big impact on me because she use to take care of me a lot when my parents were both working on the weekends. She LOVED to read and we used to sit on the couch for hours and we would take turns reading each other our books. She taught me to be curious, kind, and strong. She was one of the kindest person I have ever met. Even when she was really sick, she would compliment how I would look or would thank my mom for taking her to her appointments. No matter who you were, she would treat you like you were her child. I’ll never forget when we all went to Disney World and she tried to make the workers at the Haunted Mansion laugh because she said they looked sad. But even though she was extremely nice, she never let people walk all over her. Her famous catch phrase was- in hindsight, quite strange- “go up a gum tree and stick”. She would use this whenever my grandpa would claim that he was the boss of the house or when someone was being ridiculous. She loved to work and hated when she had to retire. She had such a zest for life that inspired me to find out whatever makes me passionate. She is truly incredible.

Then, there is my mom. I have always been attached to my parents’s hip but, especially my mom. Growing up, I was the kid who would cry excessively in camp because she missed her mom. My mom has always been my biggest advocate and the best listener. Yes, we bicker like any other mother and daughter but, at the end of the day, we always make up.  We both share a love for Mamma Mia and Taylor Swift. She also laughs at most of my jokes which is also a plus. Her selflessness and heart makes me want to be a better person all the time. She pushes me even when I don’t want to leave my comfort zone but I am grateful for that in hindsight. I thought I would share some of my mom’s best advice that has gotten me through some tough times:

1. People are going to doubt you and make insulting comments. But, if you let those comments bring you down, you are going to live with those voices while those who made those comments are going to go on and live their life and forget about you. — This was by far 10/10 piece of advice by my mom and something I always remind myself of.
2. Nobody is going to want something for you more than yourself.
3. Make sure that your future husband/partner likes animals. — This may seem random but the beginning of my parents marriage was a little rocky because my dad did not want any pets and my mom did. We now have a dog.
4. Make sure you do what you love.
5. In a society that teaches women to be in competition with each other, be somebody who celebrates and is inspired by other women’s success– This was inspired by our favorite Serena Williams quote.
6. Kill ’em with kindness.

*here are some low quality pictures of my mom (with my dad and brother) who I could not for the life of me find pictures of us together.

Those were just a couple of my favorite messages that my mom has taught me. I think overall, I am super blessed to have such amazing women in my life which extends to my whole family and all of my friends. I will be forever grateful for all the people in my life that have had my back and continually want the best for me. This can be a super scary time and we may feel isolated but make sure you reach out to your loved ones to check in and tell them you appreciate them. I don’t know what the future holds but, I do know that we have right now and it is the perfect time to take a few minutes out of your day to reach out– I’m sure whoever you want to talk would love to hear from you.

And, for the last time 🙁 , thank you for reading! Have a great weekend you guys!

Brianna Mitchell 🙂