Braving obstacles and hardships is braver than retreat to tranquility.
Khalil GibranRead
Part of me wonders if I had worked with more female psychologists, nutritionists and even coaches, where I'd be today. I got caught in a system designed by and for men which destroys the bodies of young girls.
Interpretation
Mary Cain reflects on the impact of working in a male-dominated field and expresses a desire for more female mentors.
In this quote, Mary Cain expresses her regrets about the lack of female professionals she interacted with during her formative years as an athlete. She highlights how the systems in place were primarily designed by men, leading to detrimental effects on young girls' physical and mental well-being. Cain’s reflection serves as a critique of gender biases in sport and a call for more inclusive and supportive environments for young female athletes.
In practice
In a keynote speech at a women's leadership conference.
Braving obstacles and hardships is braver than retreat to tranquility.
Fear doesn't go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.
To no man does the earth mean so much as to the soldier. When he presses himself down upon her long and powerfully, when he buries his face and his limbs deep in her from the fear of death by shell-fire, then she is his only friend, his brother, his mother; he stifles his terror and his cries in her silence and her security; she shelters him and releases him for ten seconds to live, to run, ten seconds of life; receives him again and again and often forever.
You have to prepare to quit, and this is what I did. I prepared to quit, so on the day that came when I had to walk away from the game, I walked away and didn't look back.
I am of certain convinced that the greatest heroes are those who do their duty in the daily grind of domestic affairs whilst the world whirls as a maddening dreidel.
I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them.
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