This little sweetie in the middle is me. I was born sensitive and strong and confident. I grew up in a good solid home with a family who loved me and cared for me well. I attended Denver Public Schools.
As a child I was known for being sweet, quiet and shy, but also curious and adventurous and tough, preferring to hang with the boys playing what they were playing. I was called a “tomboy”. I loved to read and write, roller skate, play tennis, soccer, swing, and swim.
Denver Public Schools labeled me as a gifted learner and an advanced placement student, but when I was in high school I became bored with academics, preferring to focus on athletics and part time employment where I felt confident, was actively engaged, and learned skills from my experiences. I didn’t like school very much anymore, but I still loved to learn. I was always a dependable worker and a talented athlete. I had dreams of becoming an international tennis star, a published author, and a civil rights lawyer. I also struggled with disordered sleep, gastrointestinal issues, and some hypersensitivities.
At 18 I left my childhood home to pursue an undergraduate degree in journalism from University of Colorado Boulder. I became insecure about my writing abilities and study abilities and switched my major to match my subject matter interests. I focused on studying history and eventually determined to also become a school teacher. I focused on tennis while working at Boulder Country Club throughout college and quietly still aspired to attend law school in order to work in civil rights, which I eventually did. I was really a natural born peace maker.
I studied to become a paralegal first and earned a certificate at Denver Paralegal Institute. This gave me the confidence I needed to apply to law school. I graduated from New York Law School in 1999 and shocked even myself when I passed the New York bar exam with high scores. I had never felt confident as a traditional student, but I still went on to hold positions at prestigious places. I worked at the New York City Law Department where I argued in the court of Sonia Sotomayor, I worked at the the New York County District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. I found that I enjoyed the law, but I wasn’t built to fight so I became a Mediator and focused on writing. For six years I served as a school law policy specialist and senior consultant for the Colorado Department of Education.
I realized as an adult that I am actually autistic, what it means to be gifted, that I can still play like a child, and that I am already a teacher and a writer and that I most love being a Mother. I have mothered three children.
Why am I sharing? Because research says that 70% of girls feel different about their futures after hearing from women role models. Thanks to Inspiring Girls International and Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society for asking us to inspire the next generation by sharing our stories.
P.S. The boy on the right is my brother Danny L. Weiss . The boy on the left is my cousin David Wilson Booth. Weren’t we all adorable in 1973?
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Book of Lisa 1:54 