Dare

"Audaces fortuna iuvat." - "Fortune favors the bold." 

Too few stories celebrate examples of women defined by audacity. Learn some and carry them forward. 

Wilma Rudolph, one of 21 children, suffered childhood polio at age four and had to relearn to walk and later run. In the 1960 Rome Olympics she won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and 4 x 100m relay, setting three world records. 

Arlene Blum led a 1978 all-woman team of climbers in an ascent of Annapurna, one of fourteen peaks in Nepal over 8000m. Annapurna was the tenth highest mountain in the world. Two women summitted and a second pair died trying. Women have the capacity to take the risks and consequences of high adventure. 

Abbie Conant broke through a glass ceiling in 1980 in a blind audition for the trombonist position with the Munich Philharmonic. Women were excluded but the organizers expected "Abbie" to be a man and authorized the tryout. They spent a decade trying to remove her. 

Diana Nyad, 64, completed the treacherous 110 mile swim from Cuba to Florida in 2013, on her fifth try in about 53 hours. 

Ordinary women do extraordinary things. 

Girls, you can do this. 

Lagniappe (something extra). 'There are two secrets to fighting. Avoid the punch; make the counterpunch." - Enola Holmes 2