Meet Sheri: In her own words – “I love Dr Seuss’s quote, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Knowing that all of us don’t fit in in one way or another, instead of trying to I believe it is important to accept and embrace our uniqueness and from that vantage point, make a difference to ourselves and the world. I do this in my personal life and through my work at The Charmm’d Foundation, a non-profit organization which strengthens leaders, their teams and their organizations. It is important that we all know ourselves, stand strong in who we are, what we believe in and what we want. It is important that we all give ourselves permission to be that person. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 I truly believe we each have a special gift(s) to offer the world. Imagine if this special quality oozed out of each of us and helped to make this world a better place. It’s my work and intention to hold the mirror up to those I encounter so that they can see how uniquely wonderful they are. I listen to them and help them celebrate themselves. For the past 15 years, at Charmm’d our small and mighty team, has worked on the people side of leadership to make this happen. This means that we focus on emotional intelligence and the soft skills we all are capable of: communicating with others, having empathy, understanding what is going on around us and creating a culture that people want to be a part of. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 I have spent much of the past 15 years learning how to become a better me and embracing who I am so that I can help others achieve the best of them. I wouldn’t call myself altruistic. I’m selfish, really. Every time I find myself helping someone else become the best version of themselves, I learn as well. I’m able to see the ways in which they’ve been able to stand strong in their own truths. I realize I then can do that too. Each time I’m able to really be present with a person, I’m able to make a connection with them, and that to me is a gift. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 So, how do I embrace who I am in my personal life? It is a privilege to share that I am 60+ and to celebrate that. In fact, each year brings me more and more joy as I create a “bucket list” of opportunities I want to accomplish. The number of items on that bucket list depends on my age. At 60, I had 60 items. Now at 61 and with the help of family and friends, I am having the time of my life working on my bucket list of 61 things to do. Still on my list are things such as visiting a salt cave, seeing the Southside pf Chicago’s St, Patrick’s Day Parade and breaking bread with a famous person. …Hmmm. It would be fun to know what Dr. Seuss would have put on his list.” *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Sheri. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 10 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #amyboylephotography #Chicago #Dressforsuccess

Meet Kim- In her own words—- ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “I am passionate about the education of African American children and specifically the improvement of literacy among African American boys in the fourth grade. I want to eradicate illiteracy among these youth and improve their dismal test scores. For this reason, I established a not-for-profit organization called We Got You Covered (WGYC) out of sheer desperation to save lives. WGYC hopes to alleviate the learning gap that circumvents a Childs development and progress by being a liaison to CPS teachers with the hope of developing a partnership that serves as a conduit for at “risk youth”. Being labeled ‘at risk’ is like “being voted least likely to succeed. For where there is no faith in your future success, there is no real effort to prepare you for it” (Brunson, Phillips & Day 2013; p. 11). “I am male. I am African American. I am poor. I harbor generations of resentment. I feel disenfranchised from a society that preaches ‘no child is left behind,’ and yet I am behind. I am in the fourth grade and I cannot read. I am labeled illiterate and amongst others who look like me, I have been herded into special education classes, even though I do not have a learning disability. What I do have is an entirely different way of learning that my teachers are not tapping into. Why aren’t they interested in my culture? It reflects who I am as a person and a student. This society does not see me and will not see me because I have no voice. Perhaps, the color of my skin, the underfunded schools I attend and the under-served community I live in has rendered me invisible. Am I not worthy of receiving a quality education?” (Lloyd, unpublished composition, p.1, 2019). This passage from a fictionalized account of a fourth-grade boy’s perspective, depicts the everyday reality of many African American boys who are ‘paying with their lives’ to overcome arguably insurmountable odds in the public school classroom. As Carter G. Woodson suggests, the most harmful effect of such a perception of self is “to handicap a student by teaching him that his black face is a curse and that his struggle to change his condition is hopeless,” (Woodson, 1933; p. 2-3) which catapults him into the abyss of illiteracy, suspensions, expulsions and future incarceration. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 As a twenty-one-year veteran on the Chicago Police Department who works in the Englewood community and a doctorate of education student at DePaul. Currently I am working on my dissertation, and I can attest that if African American boys continue to fail in literacy, then schools will continue to serve as a depository where they have a higher probability of walking the corridors of prison than the halls of college. I am passionate about WGYC because I am passionate about who it serves and the lives it can change.” ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Kim. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 11 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #dress #52PWP #Chicago #amyboylephotography #52PhenomenalWomen

Meet Tiffini: ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 In her own words… “I go everywhere I am invited. I take pictures and film everything – publishing them all over social media. The people love it! I produce commercials and promotional videos, while also venturing into advertisement ads for my pastor’s Facebook and Instagram church pages. I re-enrolled in school after a 19 year break and changed my major from acting to TV directing and producing. I could only afford to go that one semester because once again I couldn’t afford the remaining balance. Since I registered for school after I turned 40 years old in April 2017, I missed out on a lot of financial assistance from the government. However, I didn’t let that discourage me from following my calling. I continue to film for myself and my church, and I promote local businesses on my social media pages. All of this came following a bout with depression that took so much of my attention away from the people and passions that I love. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 One day I was laying on my sister’s couch while taking a nap, and I heard a thumping sound at her door. BOOM! I looked up and saw a dark cloud shaped like a human head facing me. It rapidly circled around the room, and I felt it hit me in the back. I froze; paralyzed with fear! When I finally felt courageous enough to look up and around, it was no longer there. At that moment I knew a strange entity had taken residence inside of me. Never mentioning it to anyone, I gradually went on with my life. I didn’t feel physically ill, my physical strength was the same, and I hadn’t changed much with my height or weight, so everything was ok. Right? I started thinking I may have imagined it, since I had just awakened from a nap. Maybe that dark cloud vanished in thin air, but I didn’t see where it went anyway. All of a sudden that vibrant, God-fearing, empowering person that once made up my personality became overshadowed with sadness and gloom. I’d become hypersensitive to jokes, unable to encourage anyone and very impatient with my niece and nephew’s disobedient behavior. I found myself losing control; crying a lot and wanting to be isolated, and I no longer participated in things I couldn’t live without. Going to church, family fellowship and pursuing my dreams as an actress ceased. At that point, I knew I’d hit rock bottom. I cried out “GOD, HELP ME,” when I realized depression had taken hold of my life. And as faith would have it, He did. All of a sudden, my drive for life had returned. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 You see, there was a candlelight still burning on the inside of me that gave me hope. Hope that there would be deliverance, change, and something greater living on the inside of me. God eventually chose me to start a live streaming media ministry at my church, and I am still with it to this day. Depression didn’t take my life; depression didn’t win. Just when I thought everything was over is when my life began!” *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Tiffini. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 12 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #Dressforsuccess #52PWP #amyboylephotography #52PhenomenalWomen

Meet Amanda: In her own words – ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “From this time forward, you will never see things the same again,” my architecture professor told my freshman class as we began our 5 year design journey. It took me a while to appreciate what he meant. But it was absolutely true… Once you open your eyes to patterns, proportions, colors, and overlapping systems, you really see the world differently. Design to me is like solving a puzzle. There’s always a set of rules, a program, a brand, a story to be told. At the end is a solution. Imagine looking at design challenges as if through a kaleidoscope lens. If you twist the kaleidoscope, you’ll find another solution, maybe more questions, and then another solution… and so on. My career I could argue has taken just as many twists and turns. I started out in architecture as expected. I kind of always had a sense that I’d be self-employed some day and I didn’t see that happening as an architect. While I was a little frustrated and distracted in that world, my “hobby” of creating paper goods for friends in the form of wedding invitations snuck up on me and presented itself as a viable career path. I followed that path and created Spilled Ink Press along with thousands of wedding invitations over the span of 10 years. Did I know how to run a business? Absolutely not. That wasn’t the question that needed to be answered though. There were invitations to be designed and I knew how to do that, so I got to work. My husband and I (who I met about a week into starting at that architecture school, also a student in the program) designed some greeting cards, first for ourselves as kind of a joke. Then American Greetings liked our stuff and we started writing for them. Did we know how to write greeting card jokes? Absolutely not. Something about the way Tony and I came up with jokes worked though and before we knew it our cards were being sold in Target stores all over the country. I began working for a printer as an in-house graphic designer while still creating wedding invitations, and also setting up print collateral for businesses- business cards, brochures, etc. Did I know the deep inner workings of the print world? Absolutely not. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 But there were business cards to be designed and I soon learned the business card is the wedding invitation of a small business- it says it all, in a 2” x 3.5” package. It needs to be tight, efficient, branded, and effective. And now, at this moment in time… I’m starting back into the self-employed world, taking all the pieces I’ve learned along the way and starting Caffeination Design- a graphic design company for small businesses. There are A LOT of questions I could ask myself at this juncture that start with “Do I know how…” and the answer would be “absolutely not”. Does that scare me? That’s not the question that needs to be answered right now because it’s irrelevant. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 Doors are opening because I want them to be open. My only question at this time is, “which door am I walking through?” And maybe, “who’s coming with me?” *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Amanda. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 13 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #Dressforsuccess #design #52PWP #howyouseeit #Chicago #amyboylephotography #52PhenomenalWomen

Meet Karyn: In her own words… ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “Sometimes not having a specific plan for your life can have a funny way of leading you on a journey that in retrospect seems like destiny. At least that’s how it worked for me. Coming of age in the first decade when women weren’t expected to immediately get married after college, I packed up my few possessions and took off to Boston with a college friend. With the confidence of youth, and the knowledge that I could always wait tables, off I went on my first “adult” adventure. It was the Boston restaurant owner where I worked who introduced me to a PR freelancer who hired me to write press releases for her clients. She in turn introduced me to a movie theatre owner who hired me as an assistant, trusting me to handle movie press tours (Grease! Jaws 2!) and local movie events. Did I leverage this terrific chance to move forward on a path towards film promotion? Nope. I fell for a guy in Boston who was on his way to becoming a reporter for the Guam Daily News. He offered me a ticket to come along, and again I took a road (literally) less traveled and headed off to a small island in Micronesia. After a month of beachcombing, I talked my way into a job with the only movie theatre on Guam and convinced the local TV station into doing movie reviews on the air. The TV station invited me to work for them. I became the TV station’s on-air “weather lady”, forecasting Guam’s constant 86 degree temps and modeling our sponsor’s “mumu’s” for their TV audience. Did that lead me to a career in TV broadcasting? No again. The boyfriend quickly became an “ex” and after weathering a typhoon, I returned to my hometown of Chicago emboldened by my far-flung adventure. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 In Chicago, I worked as Promotion Director for several radio stations, ultimately managing radio remote broadcasts from Disney World. Serendipity (and lots of radio events at the theme parks) struck again and I was recruited to open the first Disney marketing office in Chicago. By now I was married with two young children and traveling every month to Orlando had become a challenge. So when the President of ABC Radio invited me to launch Radio Disney in Chicago (stay with Disney! Less travel! More money!), I said YES. I had never been responsible for an entire radio station before, but I jumped in and helped the station succeed to the extent that I was promoted to running Radio Disney Stations across the Midwest. I spent 30 years with the Disney Company, and thought my destiny was finally set. Who was I kidding? In 2013 the stations were sold and I had to reinvent myself once again. At 59 years old, I became the VP of Business Development at The Chicago Tribune, leading a team within a whole new medium, including syndication sales, digital marketing and a host of new technologies. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 As I look back now, having left the Tribune earlier this year, I smile at my youthful audacity and count on it as I begin to reinvent myself once again.” *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Karyn. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 14 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #Disney #Dressforsuccess #WXRT #52PWP #WLSradio #WaltDisneyCompany #ChicagoTribune #amyboylephotography #RadioDisney #52PhenomenalWomen

Meet Christine: In her own words – ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 “I cheer for people. I was raised to believe that there’s enough sun for everybody. I knew at a very young age that I was born with a little more enthusiasm than most people I knew! Some how my voice seemed so much louder than the rest and I had all of this excitement, even over the smallest things! What I realize now, as I continue to search for my purpose in life, I’ve come to understand that I am supposed to use these gifts to help others feel their very best. I’m not supposed to keep all of the enthusiasm, optimism and excitement to myself. Using the qualities I was built with, to help encourage and cheer for others, is part of my life’s assignment! ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 It has been said many times, by many people, that all of us are here to serve others – that is what life is all about. So three years ago, I made to decision to get clear on the life that I really wanted and was determined to find my purpose. I asked myself the big questions — What am I here for? What was sent here to do? And, I also knew that discovering what I was put here to do and then actually DO IT, was the only way I would discover true joy. And joy is what I wanted — not happiness or success, but the joy that you feel deep down in your soul. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 I think all of us need some cheering and encouragement these days! And all of us have unique and special abilities that we were born with. So, as we move into a new decade, instead of focusing on what will make us happier. How about thinking, ‘how can I use my personality or my talent to help my friends, family and others feel their very best’! Just by being YOU, we have the ability to impact someone’s life for the better! And there’s no better time to start than right NOW!” *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Christine. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 15 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #52PhenomenalWomen #52PWP #amyboylephotography #newyorkcity

Meet Annie – In her own words… “She believed she could so she did” is a mantra that really has become the theme to my life. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 My teenage years were nothing short of a tornado. A low self-esteem, attention seeking, mean girl defined much of who I was and was a catalyst for many of the choices that I made. I felt that titles mattered; “popular”, “pretty”, “athlete”, “flirt”, “adored”. I spent so much time trying to mold myself to fit those titles that they were who I became, when in reality I had no clue as to who I really was. I tell this because it lays the foundation for my unpredictable journey. Being a young woman with no handle on who I actually was, made me extremely vulnerable. I strived for attention but many times received it in all the wrong ways. My lack of identity lead me to embrace a relationship that would affect my life forever. Describing that relationship now, I would say, it was abusive. I was constantly being controlled and manipulated. I was made to feel like I was nothing, that I had no real value to contribute to this life. This person defined who I was and I believed it. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 I became pregnant at the age of 21. My son Zach was born on October 3rd, 2005. Little did he know, he would save my life. Becoming a mother brought on a love that I had never imagined existed. I wanted to be the best me I could to be in order to provide him with the best life. Everything changed. “She believed she could so she did” is what would describe my future. Since then my life has been about empowerment, self-love, and using my voice for good. I am inspired by the opportunities I have had to work with teenage girls and share my story. Becoming a teacher became my platform when I was assigned to teach “at risk” youth. I was blessed every day to walk into a classroom and feel like maybe I could make a difference. It wasn’t ever about the subject I taught but the relationships I built. I saw myself in a lot of these kids and realized maybe through my story and my voice I could make a difference. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2019 Today I am a high school counselor. Every day I have the opportunity to listen, to help, to encourage, to share, and to inspire. While titles for many don’t really define who they actually are, my journey of titles is my story. You know the saying, “You can’t really know someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes”? It’s something I preach daily, because it’s easy to assume we know someone’s past and who they are but really we have no idea. If you walked in my shoes today, you would see a woman, who has overcome, who has decided to define her own life, and who has chosen to use her voice to empower others to become who they want to be, not what they think they should be.” *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Annie. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 16 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #Dressforsuccess #52PWP #Youarebeautiful #amyboylephotography #52PhenomenalWomen

Meet Jenni: In her own words – ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 “I’m terrible at drawing dogs. It’s a silly thing to be embarrassed about, but for decades, my bad dogs made my childhood dream of becoming an artist feel unattainable. Instead, I focused on becoming a writer, a flexible medium in which I could play. Today, with more than 30 years of professional writing experience, I’m humbled by the gifts writing has given me, including: – The power to inform and educate others – The ability to support women like me, who live with chronic illness, through 15 years of ChronicBabe advocacy and coaching – The fun of feeling like I can create almost anything with words I thought I had found my lifelong medium in writing, that I would always feel satisfied being “just” a writer. Creative hobbies have come and gone, but writing always felt like my forever medium. Then a friend introduced me to quilting. I had previously thought quilting was so, you know, beige. As a craft, it felt boring and stuffy, something my great-grandma did but wasn’t connected to my modern life. I was so wrong. @Amy Boyle Photography 2020 Quilting opened up a new world of color, texture, vibrancy, and tactile experience. As I learned new skills, I also met wonderful people who are passionate about creating — and generous with their fabric stashes. My great-grandma’s quilting is more meaningful to me now, especially because I finally understand the hundreds of hours she must have spent hand-stitching little hexagons of colorful scrap fabric. (My biggest project to date is an entirely hand-stitched 1-inch hexie quilt with 2,752 pieces of fabric, which took five years to complete.) Eventually, I joined the board of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild, an organization that lets me thrive as a leader and put lots of energy into charitable works. And 18 months ago, I began to marry my two favorite mediums as a writer for Quiltfolk magazine, which gave me the chance to travel the country and meet incredible makers, connecting their contemporary work with our cultural history. I’ve also learned that quilting is not just craft. It’s also art. Our culture values “fine arts” over handcraft, elevating mediums like painting and drawing (traditionally accessible mostly to men) while devaluing needlework (traditionally accessible mostly to women), not just in how works are displayed in museums, but also in how creators are compensated. But there’s a growing movement in the U.S. that seeks to elevate “women’s work” and I’m proud to be a ferocious supporter of that effort. @Amy Boyle Photography 2020 Today, I know that creative work is healing and liberating — and that I’m an artist, even if I can’t draw dogs. My new business, launched in December 2019, is a chance to teach others that creativity matters, no matter what medium you choose. Once again, I’m uniting my favorite mediums and passions, this time creating educational tools that teach people how to tap into their innate creativity, grow it as a resource, and even boost their resilience. I can’t wait to see what comes next!” *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Jenni. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 17 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #quilting #Dressforsuccess #52PWP #artsandcrafts #Chicago #amyboylephotography #52PhenomenalWomen

“You’ll want to stay home anyway and we have to let go of one person”. Meet Cara: In her own words – ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 “That is what my former employer told me, while I was pregnant. I was shocked & devastated. All my life, I dreamed of having a family, but I was also fully committed to my work. Getting laid off while pregnant, took a decision away from me. Yet, I craved having a purpose, interaction with other adults. I wanted to have impact on something outside my family. I noticed as my kids grew, my desire to be a great mom started to crumble. I was too invested, too focused on them instead of myself. Where was I? What did I want to do? I didn’t even know. I was lucky enough to know I needed a coach to exercise mindfulness so that I could figure out what I wanted for every aspect of my life. I learned that control, anxiety, fear and being overwhelmed are not healthy ways to live. I now first serve myself so that I can be whole to work productively and be an available parent. I lay boundaries for both roles so that I am at my best. My career is something that I value and it brings me a sense purpose and accomplishment. My children are my life, my joys, my loves. I have much better relationships with them because they are on their own path. I can help them to discover it, as their witness, not on their back. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 I’m passionate about other people learning the same and have developed techniques for employees. I have assembled a team who help me coach working parents. When children are raised with available, loving, mindful parents they grow into compassionate adults who know themselves. Women need to be in the workplace because they add value and brilliance in solving world problems. Men need to be part of family formula so there is equity in the emotional labor women take on, otherwise women won’t have the bandwidth to work effectively. Our clients are overwhelmed and anxious about raising their children and managing their careers. We help them to learn what they want and start with mindfulness. We coach people who want to have a great family and at the same time, have passion and talents that should be used in their career. We need a new way of obtaining the great advantages of our modern workplace. It’s not more time with our families, it’s intense time and devoted time to really connect. One way is to get very clear with our own desires and how we divide our time. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 Coaching working parents who struggle with knowing what is important is key. When they are clear about themselves and their needs, they prioritize better and work more productively. They know who they are, what they want, what their goals are and if their actions are matching them. Employers try to put processes and mechanistic standards in place to help their employees. Working parents don’t want fancy drinks and ping pong tables. Those are only bonuses and aren’t real indicators of success or failure. Busy parents are caught on the tread mill of doing and accomplishing, checking off their lists. This causes a significant rise in anxiety, depression and death by suicide. The performative culture has to change and our coaching techniques get straight to the heart of how to do it.” *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Cara. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 18 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #Dressforsuccess #52PWP #Chicago #amyboylephotography #52PhenomenalWomen

Meet KJ: ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 In her own words – “Necesita saber a caer para luego poder a volar. You have to learn to fall to later be able to fly- a line from a song I learned as an exchange student in Costa Rica has stuck in my mind for the past 32 years. I sing it all the time thinking, what I am doing today to take flight? This is after decades of watching others get on the plane while I stood on stand-by wishing for an amazing life. I perceived myself as less than because I struggled so much to love myself. I was stuck in assumptions because of that one word that Brene Brown has helped me face- shame. It has been my biggest barrier to getting in the cab to the airport, stepping onto the plane, and putting on my safety belt. But who do I think I am to be happy, accomplished, and loved? Who do I think I am inviting other people to jump into flight and face terrifying turbulence? Before my 40’s I had the fear that I was somehow unlovable. Even with rich friendships, incredible sons, a great career, and a loving husband, my shame took over my waking moments. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 Growing up was rough. My parents did the best they could but it left me afraid and ashamed and hesitant. I worked so hard to be perceived as perfect with accomplishments I thought were necessary to be good enough. Now that I have a son in his 20’s I see my own shortcomings as a mom and am able to have empathy for my parents. I have forgiveness and that has transformed the shame into power. We have to forgive- it’s a gift to give ourselves. I remember an Oprah show where she said something along the lines that forgiveness is letting go of wishing the past had been different. Dang. When I first heard that it took my breath away. I thought, you mean all these years I could have let go of wishing my family had been closer and healthy? All I had to do is let go of the wishing game? Now at 48 years, I truly let it go. I’m flying. Like REO Speedwagon, it’s time for me to fly, and I want you to join me. We are stronger together. There is so much divisiveness in the word today particularly given the state of political affairs in the U.S. There are many values we debate and use to make people feel less than or give them a sense that they don’t belong. But no one gets fulfilled that way. No one touches the clouds and soars that way. And we all are here to soar. I want to help folks get on the plane- you get to fly! ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 When Amy invited me to be part of her 52 Phenomenal Women project, I thought, why me? I prayed and asked Spirit what I should share to be part of us taking flight together. I started noticing. Friends would say thank you for listening, for being a mirror, for shining my light. My youngest son would snuggle into me. My husband would validate all the things I do around the house to keep the business of the family moving forward. That’s why me- I am an example of the power of letting go of shame, letting the past stay in the past, and of truly facing fears and just trying- trying to heal, to love abundantly, and to trust that this plane has room for me and all of us.“ *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about KJ. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 19 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #Dressforsuccess #52PWP #Chicago #amyboylephotography #52PhenomenalWomen

Meet Sarah: In her own words: ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 “As a girl, I felt the ways I didn’t fit in more than recognizing my value. I was adopted: Korean – mixed with a blend of unknown ethnicities. This excluded me from my birth country and made me stand out in my new country where I just wanted to fit in. I felt that I existed on a plane parallel to my life while navigating the trodden path laid down for me. While I saw the beautifully manicured trail that made sense to me, it didn’t feel like me. I wandered. I’ve had many jobs with great people, got married, divorced, raised 2 kids, and started a draft of my 8-year empty nest plan. Suddenly, a fever spread, insisting that I face down the mystery of my history and visit my birth country – at least once. I don’t know why I didn’t go before. I felt my history blocked me out. Having left Korea at 8 months old, I would not remember anything from my life there. But I felt my existence somewhere else, before I lived here.. Without that information, I felt no strength in my story and hollow knowledge of my value. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 At 48 years old, I took my first trip to Korea with a tour group of other mixed-Korean adoptees. Together we learned about our shared history, and varied paths. It slowly became clear that the dissonance in my life came from not knowing and owning my story. Knowing that history our history was not always positive, nor clear, made me more driven to help people figure out why they are here. To be honest, the trip offered more questions than answers. My heart ached for everyone’s stories. But, when I heard Oprah explaining the insurmountable odds that brought her to her platform, I felt peace. I understood that despite complicated history bringing people here, we all have a purpose and add value. I became driven to help people tap into their stories, their histories and find their purpose and support. I want to connect people who share their authentic selves. People deserve an attentive audience and hopefully gain some confidence in setting it free. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 I’ve started to document mine through my blog www.makesmewander.com and through my written contribution to the Mixed Korean: Our Stories anthology. I feel the power in the group’s voice and the slight shift while we educate our birth country about what it meant to grow up mixed Korean. This book is being translated into Korean and we will be doing book readings in several universities in Korea in the Fall. So while I was not even sure that I’d ever get to Korea, now I get to go again as a teacher and connector. This helps re-lace the ties that were cut decades ago. I realize now, as I race towards my fiftieth birthday, that my wandering brought me to exactly the right place with the right groups of people at the right time to be living my purpose. While this lesson was learned in connection to my adoption, I feel anyone going through transition or seeking balance can benefit from becoming more in tune with their story and sharing it with others.” *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Sarah. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 20 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!*** #Dressforsuccess #52PWP #guestblogger #amyboylephotography #52PhenomenalWomen

Meet Tracee: In her own words: “JOY is your birthright. PAUSE. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 Notice what happened in your body when you read that first sentence. You might have felt a HECK YES!!! Or something more like I DON’T BUY IT! Both of those reactions are valid. Our life experiences give us so much feedback about what it means to be joyful, who deserves to be joyful, how joy is earned, and when it is appropriate or not to express your joy. How many of us have been told we were “too much” “too loud” or to “SHHHHH” when we were younger because it wasn’t convenient or comfortable for others to witness our joyful expressions of happiness, creativity, and wonder? As we get older, joy can become more elusive. We find more reasons to feel joyless. We look outside of ourselves for validation and gratification. We worry about the future and rehash the past over and over until it pops up in our present-day to remind us that we just haven’t learned the lesson yet. So, where is this joy hiding itself? The first thing we have to remember is that it is not OUTSIDE of us. As cute as our new shoes are, as long as our new lashes look and as sparkly the diamond on our finger is, I can tell you joy is not hiding there. The place to look is inside. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 Here’s how: Teachings from the philosophy of yoga tell us there is a radiant effulgence inside every one of us. That light resides at the heart center and is said to be beyond all sorrow. This brilliant luminescence within us is beyond all conditioning and circumstances of our life. By concentrating on this light, we connect to a place of deep and everlasting joy that is always present. Joy has been there all along. Here’s a short meditation that will help you to begin to turn your attention inward and bring awareness to the heart center. Find a quiet place to sit, in a chair, cross-legged on the floor, or lying down if it is more comfortable. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in and exhale out with an audible sigh. – Three times Feel as though you are releasing tension and stress each time you exhale. Notice your body breathing. Let go of trying to control the breath and watch the breath in and out. Feel the breath the moment it enters the nostrils, notice the temperature is cool, notice the exhale is warm- 1 minute As you inhale mentally (silently), repeat the sound SOOOOOO. As you exhale, mentally repeat HAMMMMM. Feel as though the sound vibration is riding on your breath. SOOOOOOOO as you inhale. HAMMMMM as you exhale. 3 minutes. (So Hum means “I am that”) Let go of repeating the sounds. Bring your attention to the center of your chest. Let your awareness rest there as you continue to breathe. Feel as though you are breathing in and out from the center of the chest. Feel as though each breath leads you deeper inward toward a radiant light of inner joy. Let go of striving. Be present with the breath. 3 minutes. ©Amy Boyle Photography 2020 Try this practice for 40 consecutive days!” Find your JOY! *** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Tracee. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 21 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!***