Over the weekend, I kept a close eye on my Twitter feed because I was dying a slow, painful internal death. I was here, in Ithaca, while in New York City, some of the most powerful female minds were meeting. I was here. They were there. And that wasn’t fun.
What was fun is seeing how women across the world came together to have a meeting of the minds. Discussions about homosexuality in other nations can lead to jail time, maternal mortality, women in the field of technology, and even fashion were panel topics.
As cool as it would have been to just sit in on the discussion lead by Diane von Furstenberg (I adore all things fashion and she is at the top), I would have cut off my left arm to be in the seat that Nene Sy was sitting in. The high school senior from Harlem got to be on stage with Barbara Walters and Ann Tisch AND interview Michelle Obama.
Sy came from a family of immigrants. Her parents are from Mali and she will be the first in her family to attend college, something that Michelle Obama advocates as critical for a successful future. She and the First Lady talked about losing loved ones, future plans, and accepting yourself for who you are – both ladies stand tall at over five foot nine.
To even be in the same room as one of these women would be incredible. To be at the summit with all of them would be a dream. To actually be able to say that you’ve interviewed them and had personal conversations with them? Like I said, I would give almost anything for that kind of experience.