I fancy myself a Super Woman. I want to be able to do everything and have people wonder how I do it. I know it’s possible because I’ve been surrounded by Super Women my whole life. My mom is an osteoporosis internist with her own clinic and she travels around the US and, sometimes around the world, lecturing about osteoporosis. She’s also a Dean for the medical students at Washington University and does everything she can to get them into top tier residencies. Then she comes home to make a ridiculously delicious dinner. Oh, and did I mention she’s up at 5:15am every morning so she can work out for an hour before preparing breakfast for my brother and I?!?!? SUPER WOMAN. And she’s working to live up to the example set by her mother – my grandmother. She worked as a Navy nurse in California, raised 5 girls while continuing to work, volunteered at the St. Louis Zoo for more than 30 years, and, at 90 years old, still walks a mile a day, makes the MOST delicious mashed potatoes, and is the best shopping companion.

SUPER WOMEN.

I have so much to live up to. I’ve spent years trying to figure out how they do it. I constantly ask for their advice, but there’s a certain amount I’ve needed to figure out through my own experience. (And I’m not going to pretend like I’ve got it all worked out yet…)

I know it takes hard work, and that part I can do. I know how to kick it into gear 3 weeks before exams and GET IT DONE. However, once I finish, I usually end up sick and in need of 3 days in bed with Netflix. So I needed to figure out how my Super Women role models do it without the burnout.

After 21 years, I’ve discovered a few of their secrets. First, they take downtime, and they escape everything. My mom goes horseback riding three times a week and she’ll get lost in a book every night after dinner. Second, they’ve surrounded themselves with supportive friends and family. My grandma’s neighbors are always coming by her house to talk, to bring food, or to shovel her walkway! Also, she and I worked at the St. Louis Zoo together one summer, and she had way more friends there than I did. I was lucky if they let me steal her away for lunch one day! Lastly, these Super Women love what they do. My mom loves her job, and that’s one of many reasons she’s so good at it. It is definitely because of her that I’m determined to do something I love. She doesn’t dread having to get up early to go to work or working late some days because she really loves what she does.

It’s taken me some time to observe all these things, and I anticipate that it will take even longer to apply them to my life. However, I know it’s important. I’m going to be a Super Woman like my mom and my grandma, and I’m going to do it without the burnout. My goal for the rest of the semester is to follow their example and become a Super Woman. I’m going to take more time for myself (especially when I start to feel the burnout-pressure building), ask friends and family for help and support when I need it, and remember why I’m here and why I want to work hard. Hopefully, if I get in the habit now, I can keep it up and enter the “Real World” as a Super Woman.