Marie Curie Has It All

I may have just found a legit role model..



"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained."

-Marie Curie


From this Huffington Post article:

Born in 1867, this woman – the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes – had to climb a steep hill in order to pursue her passion for science in a male-dominated world. As a result, there are still so many reasons to look back on Curie's life and to put it forth -- even all these years later -- as a lingering example for girls and young women everywhere.

Although her triumph over a tough childhood in Russian-occupied Poland is the stuff of legends, her real journey began in 1906. That's when her scientist husband, Pierre Curie, was killed instantly after being run over by a horse-drawn wagon on a busy street in Paris. Marie was left alone with two daughters -- Irene, 8, and Eve, 14 months.

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Marie carried on the couple's research and was appointed to fill Pierre's position at the Sorbonne, making her the first woman professor there. In 1911, Marie won her second Nobel Prize (she had shared a Nobel Prize with Pierre in 1903). She also put her life on the line for her country. With Irene at her side, she crisscrossed France during World War I, transporting portable X-ray machines to doctors on the battlefield.

For years, women have been going on about whether they can "have it all" -- a blending of marriage and motherhood with a demanding career. And yet women like Marie Curie didn't sit around thinking about such things. She immersed herself in her career because she loved it. Leaving it behind never even crossed her mind.

How was Marie able to do it? One reason is that her widower father raised all of his children -- whether boys or girls -- to believe they were capable of great things.

Once, when Marie was only 11, the headmistress of her school told Marie's father that, although Marie was at the top of her class, she was much more sensitive than her peers. Perhaps, the headmistress suggested, he should consider holding the girl back a year. He did exactly the opposite. He immediately pulled Marie from the school's nurturing environment and enrolled her in a much tougher school that catered to high achievers.

Through the years, Marie's father introduced her to the thrill of physics and chemistry and all subjects with the same enthusiasm he did Marie's brother.