A Person's Heroes

A while back I wrote a post about my mom, who is my hero in so many ways. But a couple of weeks ago my husband got to meet his guitar hero--Mark Tremonti. Tremonti is the reason my husband started playing guitar. The hubby was beyond excited, and even now--weeks later--I think, at least a foot is still on Cloud 9. I was beyond excited for my husband, and relieved that Tremonti seemed every bit the guy that my hubby had pictured him to be. (I doubt Tremonti will ever read this, but just in case: Thank you, Mark!)

The hubs with Tremonti 4/27/11!

However, this wonderful encounter got me thinking... Do I have a hero that would be like that for me? I ran through people I admired and people who inspired me. Quite a few (my mom, Lisa, Gina, Linda (x2), Carla, Kathy, Juliette, Heather, Gail, Edna, Kristen, et al) are a part of my every day life or were at one point. Reflecting on that it made me both happy and sad. I was elated to look back and realize how fortunate I was to have such A-M-A-Z-I-N-G women in my life who supported, pushed, believed and corrected me.

But it made me feel like I'm not the dreamer I always thought I was. I always thought I had lofty aspirations and no goal was too high for me, which IS true. Just because I didn't have a hero I could name at a moment's notice, didn't mean that I didn't dream.

Now, after thinking about it for a few weeks, I do have a list of women that I would like to meet for a variety of reasons. Below are my Top 10 and why I would want to meet them:

10. Idina Menzel. No one's voice in musical theatre has moved me quite the way that hers did in Wicked.

9. Mary Lou Retton. In my youth, she was my hero. I always eagerly looked forward to the Summer Olympics because of her.

8. Eve Ensler. She created The Vagina Monologues--isn't that enough said? If not, then let me add this: she gave female issues a voice that was unique and loud enough to not be ignored.

7. Loretta Lynn. When she started in country music, it was still mainly a man's genre. She was one of the first women in the world to not just croon over a man. Instead she spoke her mind and didn't care what people thought. She is an inspiration in character and strength.

6. Anne Rice. I enjoyed vampires before I read Anne Rice, but her portrayal and humanizing of Lestat made me fall in LOVE. To this day vampires are still some of my favorite creatures.

5. Jane Espenson. She is my television writing goddess. She has had a hand in every supernatural or science fiction show I have watched the last decade and then some. She's hysterical on twitter and I can't wait to see her playing with Captain Jack on Torchwood.

4. Kristen Bell. This is one I admire. She is truly selfless in her causes (invisible children, clean water, etc). I would also love to have her incredible timing for sarcastic, ironic, dark humor. "Did that surprise you?"

3. Reese Witherspoon. I have been told more times than I can count that I look and sound like her, and I have to admit that is a large part of why I would want to meet her. But beyond that, I respect her work and her fantastic ability to keep her private life just that.

2.  Reba. If I had to say that one woman inspired me in all walks, it would be the red-headed country queen. She can do it all--sing, act, produce.

1. Laurell K. Hamilton. In my adult life she's probably the most inspirational celeb-ish woman for me. I literally stumbled upon her Anita Blake novels. The more books I read, I chose to learn more about her. She encouraged me to play with my own imaginary friends on paper without even knowing it--for that I will always be grateful.