Wisdom by the River: Life Lessons from Racing
In April 2024, I was invited to give a motivational speech about kayak racing at a women's happy hour event in Seattle at the Rough and Tumble Pub organized by Megan Kelly and Anastasia Alder. I was invited to do this partially because of the blog I wrote in 2021 titled “ Motivations for competing in Whitewater Kayaking ”, and because I was currently coaching one of the organizers on an online race team with my husband, Leif. I was honored and excited to be invited and speak of my journey because (in the words of a mentor of mine, Abby McHale ) I truly believe that “ we must foster reverence for the courage of uninhibited expression in one another because when we show ourselves to one another, we realize we are not alone and that our experience is simply the experience of woman. And when a woman is in her power, fostering her sisterhood, it makes all woman feel safe. ” The following speech is an uninhibited expression of the wisdoms I have learned from my experience ka...