Martyr; One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle
Peasant
Mission First (Save France)
Move Forward Now
Difficult; In the way; clear the way; therefore perceived Arrogant
Unbreakable Spirit
Easy Target
Risked everything to archive Goals
Quotes from other role Models:
"Rarely, do well-behaved women make history"
" I'm just doing my part."
"we take care of our own."
To understand me is to understand my "unshakable drive" to succeed where others fail. I have perfected this unshakable drive over the past half a century. This drive is ever more present in the core values of the Marine Corps to never, never quit. It is acceptable to fail, fail and fail again but you can never quit. My beliefs are also tied in with the Zig Ziglar school of thought that every no is one step closer to a yes. So, I believe that goals are the end result of past failures that you overcame.
This drive has enabled me to succeed in my life in many facets which included my gender, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Marine Corps boot camp or graduating from Penn State University. I am not the smartest in the class but I never , never quit and work at it until I find a way to succeed.
In 1997, rheumatoid arthritis crippled my body to the point I could barely walk and my young daughter had help me open jars,etc. Overtime, I battled back and was able to walk then last year when I was put on estrogen the flood gates opened up and I began to exercise. Today, I can run 6 miles in 62 minutes which rivals my best time when I was in the marines at 19 years old. It took thirty years to accomplish that feat but I never quit.
For nearly 50 years I failed at my gender but I seized every opportunity when it presented itself and kicked the door down. Each failure over 50 years was edging me one step closer to my goal and finally at the age of 52, "voila", Rachel. I simply never quit; there is always a way to achieve your goals you just have to be persistent and never give up.
What does Joan De'Arc have to do with me? She started it all for me. In ninth grade, I was taking a French Class and mademoiselle McCormick was teaching a section on french culture. I did not realize until recently just how big an impact the classes on Joan De'Arc had on me. She had become my role model and myself coming from a "strict" catholic family I could never have a female role model so subconsciously I keep this to myself all these years. Thus, I saw a drive in a woman that no one could destroy and I needed this very drive to become who I am today. She truly is a role model for the ages. As "don" I was a merely a follower but as "rachel" I am fearless, driven and may be perceived as arrogant.
Now, I am but a messenger, and will become a visible face to the public in my struggle to get my story out. But, the women that have come before me have made this possible and I want to acknowledge their sacrifices . I have realized in the last year that without women before me there would not be a Rachel. Because of women before me I have been empowered and have a voice and this made a critical difference in life. This is also the main reason I feel compelled to give back to society because so much has been given to me.
I also would like to thank the women who have worked with me and continue to work with me and have placed their trust in me to achieve our goals. I, like all others, want to be part of something big and to accomplish the big goals it takes a group of people. I will give more details about this in later blogs.
I understand it is now time for me to do my part. My part is telling my story which is about me but my journey was started not because my story is about "rachel," nor the transgendered community but about all veterans so other wise everyone in society. Because veterans are a cross section of society.
Now I will discuss sexuality and how my sexuality is related to society's issues of sexuality.
thank you
Rachel
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