Women's History Month: Told to Stay in My Lane? I Built My Own Damn Road.
"The question isn't who's going to let me; it's who's going to stop me.”
Ayn Rand.
No Kelsey you can’t play basketball at lunch on Fridays.
Why not? (as I rolled my face at him)
Because you’re a girl. And the old-school P.E. teacher turned around and walked away.
What a dick – I thought to myself. I guess playing basketball on Tuesday nights with the MEN was not good enough.
Like so many other girls, that wasn’t the first time I was excluded from an activity simply because the rules were different for me.
I remember thrashing around, frustrated and pissed off, demanding, “Why is HE allowed to do that?”—only to hear the same dismissive response:
“That’s just the way it is.”
Being a child of the eighties, I’ve always felt like I had one foot in two different worlds.
On one hand, I spent every Wednesday cooking with my Hungarian great-grandmother, who was born in 1899 and didn’t speak English, and on the other, I was using computers in school and fondly remember watching my mom graduate from university.
The modern woman was on the rise, but behind closed doors—and under the spotlight of social norms—she was still expected to stay quiet and act like a lady.
Welcome to Women’s History Month!
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to take you on a deep dive into the past—unpacking old narratives and shedding new light on the beliefs we’ve been taught to accept.
And if you think those old ways have disappeared like your grandmother’s rotary phone—think again.
We’re just at the beginning of reshaping the future for women, and there’s a hell of a lot of work to do.
My goal?
To shed light on the history that rarely gets talked about.
For example: did you know the official date when Canadian women got the right to vote is a lie?
Or that two competing schools of feminist thought were battling each other for the same outcome?
Or what the term feminism actually means!
(Because let’s be honest, it really does get a bad rap.)
And if you think that old-school P.E. teacher discouraged me from doing what I needed to do just because I was a girl?
Not a chance.
Anyone who’s ever tried to box me in has only fueled my fire. I love the challenge of being challenged. In fact, pushing back against society’s norms has been one of my greatest assets.
It drove me to become a top athlete, powered my corporate success, and ultimately forced me to step into my most authentic self.
Yes, the past can be uncomfortable—but isn’t it time we finally put all those outdated assumptions about women to bed for good?
Stay tuned. There’s so much more to come.
I’ll leave you with a question:
When was a moment in your life when you went against what was expected of you?
How did it change the trajectory of your life?
I’d love to hear your story—so write in the comments below and let me know!
Until Next Week,
Stay Wild.