Introduction

Unlike some of my peers report, I have a lot of passions. So narrowing them all down to one was difficult for me. I spent a lot of time thinking about a topic I could write about repeatedly, because I like consistency  Fortunately, I learned at a young age that one of my greatest passions is reading. When I was younger, I would pick up any book within arm's reach of me. Often they were my older sister's. And so it was with a book I stumbled upon in fourth grade, Beware Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer. The book was about a young woman learning to negotiate politics in the 16th century. And I found it fascinating.

This wasn't my introduction to loving history. For a long time I had been obsessed with the Magic Treehouse books. In fifth grade, I did a report where we were allowed choose any topic about gender roles in Ancient Egypt. Around the time I was eight and nine the most intriguing parts of history to me were ancient China and ancient Egypt. And I still love those periods. But this was different.

Rather than the culture of the times, a lot of books written about medieval and Renaissance periods focus more on the politics surrounding the monarchy. I was hooked. I read everything I could find about the Tudors and other nation's monarchs of the same period. I still know most about the Tudor period of English history, but my interests have broadened over time. I realized that what I loved most about Elizabeth from that first book was how she related to her femininity and used it to aid her where others thought it might hinder. As the first unmarried Queen of England, she faced many challenges. And a lot of them women still face today.

So for this blog, I want to write about history, but also the present. I want to write about women in power and how their roles have changed throughout history. By focusing each week on a different woman, past or present, and covering her story, I hope to show my passion while having fun.

Because I have fun writing about powerful women in charge. I'm a little odd.

(I tried to post this yesterday but it failed so I don't know what's up with this...)