The Female Icon Behind "We Can Do It Poster"

In our society, people usually seek inspirations and something to look forward to in achieving their dreams and holding on to their own ideals. One iconic poster we have from way back 1940's shows a young lady in a red bandana with white polka dots flexing her arm as a sign of strength.

Nowadays, many images and photos are based on this poster as shown below: 

Even Beyonce tried to recreate the iconic post. 

 A lot of recreations and parodies also can be found in social media. Please see sample photo below. 

It's funny and amazing at the same time as to how famous and powerful it has been. The "We Can Do It" poster became an icon of feminism and Women's Empowerment. It is something that remind us, women, of what we can do, what we can be and what we can achieve in circumstances that many were previously denied of. 

I was just going through some articles when I happened to see these. They became more interesting to me when I learned that the woman behind the original photo herself fought for her own identity for that inspired poster for years.

After the Pearl Harbor Attack, women took charge of males' jobs since the men have to go for military missions. Naomi Parker Fraley, an Oklahoma native, fresh from her 20's, was one of the young ladies who worked in a factory for manufacturing airplane wings. A photo of hers was taken in 1942 operating the machines as a riveter.  This was found and used by Westinghouse, a large electric company in US as an inspiration for the poster. 

It was only in the 1980's, that Naomi learned about her photo. However, it was already credited to the famous model "Geraldine". For years, Naomi fought for her identity since it was her picture that was used for the poster, and not any other lady. She would willingly tell her stories over and over again of how she, her sister and her other female colleagues took part in helping their society during the second world war. It was only last 2015 when she was already 94 when the Court confirmed and gave the title to her as the iconic woman behind the poster. She was very happy at that time. More than 2 years later, at 96 years, Naomi died with pride and honor. She was indeed a True Icon.

(How iconic is she?!? She has her own international bronze statue in London, UK as Rosie the Riveter.)

Mga Hugot!

Disclaimer: All this articles were written some years ago already (2013, 2014 and 2015)

Life is What You Make It

During high school days, students are really anxious on what they are going to be in the future - lawyer, beloved wife and mother, respectable teacher, etc. High school days are those times when we were highly spirited, full of dreams and aspirations, goals and gusto-ko-maging-ganito-balang-araw mode.

It is always amazing when those aspirations stay strong and firm after college. However, life has many challenges. It can sometimes be unfair. One thing I know, what happens after a decade is the most critical point. Checklist:  good career, good lovelife and having your own family, financial stability, good relationship with friends and other loved ones, and the list goes on. ( at good relationship pa din pala kay God. Kung di pa pasado, pwede ba magpanic mode pag may time? haay.) Priorities, sacrifices, decisions, long term goals? Keeps getting harder and harder to think about. If only it's that simple to follow your heart, or should we lead our hearts to what's best for our lives? After all, life's what we make it. If only opportunities are floating bubbles in the air  and can be found easily. Nah..just dreaming. So, for you worries and fears, please go away, and let us seize every single day. Carpe diem!

Holding Back, Keeping Up, Joggling Thoughts

Thinking about how we were as kids brings smile to our faces.  It's always the days when life is simplest - when honesty means not cheating in classes, when responsibility means maintaining good grades, when socializing means playing with other kids, when financial management only deals with what to buy with what our parents gave us, and more importantly, it is the time when every one of us is in the worry-free-status and a MUCH MORE P-O-S-I-T-I-V-E person.

However, as we grow older and as we tend to experience life with crossroads, twists, turns and roadblocks, it became more and more difficult to decide. Even Not-Doing-Anything-Mode is something we also choose. Can we just request Him a NO-CHOICE-ZONE and everything is there for us to accept?!? Ooh well, we can't !  However it's our privilege actually to be able to make our own life stories. We may not always have good judgement but we can always try and learn.

Out of the Blue

The more you talk to a person, the more you miss that person. Do you have a feeling na kapag nakakausap mo siya, bigla mo lang narerealize, mas namimiss mo pala sya? Yun bang pakiramdam na hay-naku-why-on-earth-na-ganito-nararamdaman-ko! 

I'm not a psychologist pero here is my own perspective: Memories is part of our daily lives and it has always its sweet-little-comfort-zones - familiarity of a place, habitual things being done, or those unique moments na magaganda at naitatabi na ating "brain modules" (sa dicitionary ko). Meron at meron bagong memories na papasok araw araw consciously or unconsiously and if there are changes na nangyayari, it might not be sinking in kaagad. But then, all of a sudden, out of a blue, may mga instances na makikita kang familiar sa 'yo at biglang may bagong pop up sa brain cells mo "missing! missing! missing!".

How's Your Day

When asked by others "how's your day?", we often say "ok lang."  However, "ok lang" can mean everything. A shrug can sometimes mean "hay naku, hindi maganda. ayoko lang magkuwento".. or "it's just a usual day, seems like nothing happened" or it's being in the let-everything-pass-I-don't-care- mode. "How's-your-day" is a question that means, ano mood mo? Ano ginawa mo? Okay ba araw mo? Muzta ka? And how should we answer it? With a smile? With a sad face? With a long story? With "the shrug"? or a simple blank face?  The list of ways goes on..

Oftentimes, at the end of every day, we are either unconsciously or consciously aware of what we have done within that day. Ano nga b ang pwede maging tema natin sa isang araw? Perhaps it's about regrets? or maybe, it's about dreams? Or goals? People are different but there's one naked truth about how we live our lives in every day: we all react.  React to what?  To different life's circumstances! Challenges? Cases? to necessities? It's the "nature-of-people-and life-as-we-blow-it-fact". And everything boils down to our level of satisfaction..are we glad enough? ..Can't tell..

Human nature as being unpredictable, can have different point of views of how to answer the question "how's your day", but for sure, it can always be something that's asking on how happy we are. Appears skin deep? Nah..other's think it's just something we can ask as a greeting. But for those whom we care, we ask this to open up a deeper conversation. So, how's your day?