the beautiful Betty Ford

Today I get to blog about two of my absolute favorite things ever!: powerful, influential women in the world & history! With all of the news that's been covered lately, I'm sure that all of you are familiar with the recent passing of the inspiring woman known as Betty Ford, on July 8th of this year. Prior to all of this news about her passing, I didn't know much about the woman other than the fact that she was our 38th president's First Lady in office. After people started talking about her uplifting journey, though, I started to grow curious. Anyone that knows me knows that I tend to have slight feminist traits when it comes to women making history, I love to hear about inspiring messages that women have brought into the world, because honestly it gives me hope as a young woman myself!

But enough about me and back to Ms. Ford!
So, after hearing all of this about how she was an icon for women everywhere, I wanted to do some research to see exactly why. I learned that Ms. Betty Ford struggled with an alcohol addiction as well as an addiction to opioid analgesics (pain killers). Addictions can be found everywhere, but substance addictions are clearly much harder to shake. Not only did she overcome both of these addictions, but Ms. Ford also went on to open the Betty Ford Center after her recovery. The Betty Ford Center was a rehabilitation place for the treatment of chemical dependency. Ford went on to write books about her recovery and even became an active feminist leader in later years. She won many awards for her outstanding works and citizenship.

As many accomplishments that Betty Ford made (in activism and in the female community), the one that stuck out the most to me was her creation of the rehabilitation center.

I, myself, have never had the unfortunate addiction to any sort of drug, but I have been close to many that have and are currently battling with it. It's an awful thing, but Ms. Ford story definitely shed some hope on the situation. Just because I've never dealt with any addition drug related, that doesn't mean that there's never been anything in my life weighing me down. Her creation of the Betty Ford Center inspires me and shows me that it IS possible that with every horrible thing in life, good can come out of it if you're willing enough to let it. Addiction is horrible and can easily take hold of a life, but if the will is there to overcome it, anything is possible. Betty Ford realized this and turned her negative into something positive- not just for herself, but for others more so. She gave others the chance to overcome and be their own personal "lighthouses" so to speak for others. It's like a chain reaction almost.

Not only is this a tribute to our late but great 38th First Lady in the white house, but a reminder that anything is possible if there is a will. No matter how big the 'negative' is in your life, the positive can easily overrule if you open your heart and make steps toward the better.

stay strong loves! until next time :) xoxo`