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Last week, I recalled my 50th birthday and wanted to share that special moment with all of you. Particularly in light of our indoor activities and recovery election drama/trauma.

I also wanted to acknowledge our collective efforts of coming together as a group of women to celebrate life, and it was as simple as that! I would encourage everyone to live your life to the fullest, especially now since we are seeing our loved ones and family members being so dramatically affected by the time's stress and stressors.

Gloria Estefan is a Cuban born singer, songwriter, and business woman. In 1980 she became the lead singer of “Miami Latin Boys” later renamed Miami Sound Machine. She made worldwide success with the song “Conga” that has become her signature song. She had her first number one hit with “Anything for You”. In 1990 Estefan had an accident in her tour bus that left her critically injured. After a year of surgery and rehab she returned to the stage with a new album and world tour. Since then she has received three Grammy’s and many other awards.

Hedy Lamarr was one of the most popular actresses of her day. She was obviously a beautiful woman but what a lot of people do not realize is that she patented a “Secret Communication System” used by the military, and meant to change radio frequencies to prevent enemies from being able to detect their messages. This idea eventually led to the development of modern Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology. And because of this, we choose to celebrate the scientific achievements of this brilliant and beautiful woman.

I would like to introduce everyone to King Peggy!
She reigning chief of the town of Tantumin the Mfantsiman Municipal District, Ghana. This is the first female chief that this village has had. She has worked as a secretary at the Embassy of Ghana in D.C. since the 70’s. After her uncle passed in 2008 she was selected to be his successor through a series of trials! Peggy currently resides in Silver Springs, MD. She still spends several weeks a year in Ghana. And plans to rule full time after she retires from the embassy. Even though Peggy is a women she prefers to be referred to as “King” instead of “Queen” because “Most of the time, a king is the one who has all the executive power to do things, while the queen is mostly in charge of the children's affairs and reporting to the king. So I really love this.”

Dr. Maya Angelou was best for her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. The book was internationally acclaimed but was seen as taboo due to Angelou’s honesty about having been sexually abused. But did you know that she wrote seven autobiographies throughout her career? Her career went past books as well. She dabbled in poetry, plays, screenplays for television and film, directing, acting, public speaking, dancing, and singing. When she started singing is when she took on the stage name of Maya Angelou. After moving to New York she met Martin Luther King Jr. she started the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and started work as a civil rights activist. Maya Angelou has accomplished so much in her life that she has and will always be an inspiration to young girls and women everywhere. That is why I am honored to have her as my inspirational woman of the day.

Malala was born in July 1997. When she was just eleven years old the Taliban took control of her town. People could no longer watch television, listen to music, and girls could not go to school. When she was fifteen she decided to speak up for the girls in her town, she believes that they have a right to an education. By doing this it put a target on her back. A man shot her in her head. But she woke up in the hospital ten days later. Two years later, in 2014 when she had finished recovering she was right back out there advocating for the education of girls. Since this incident she has started a charity fund for education, won a Nobel Peace Prize, and is currently studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. Malala is a young woman who will and has risked her life to make sure that girls like her are able to receive an education just like everyone else. That is why today Malala Yousafzai is our inspirational woman of the day!