Listing 2.0 -From Bumbled to Bumble: Ad-In, Volley Back!

An "Ad-InDum": My December 15th post included a (negative) commentary on Time's "Person of the Year" (well, actually a composite of two), which has since gotten some criticism from other notable sources as well. Criticism for both the choice of people who haven't yet proven they were deserving of being elevated, and criticism for not endorsing some everyday people who have put their lives on the line for all of us, who could have used a "Timely" morale boost. Bumbled, indeed! Meanwhile, in this month's Vogue magazine (which is admittedly not part of my daily reading fare but might be now), I was fortunate to come across an article "Produced by Vogue with Bumble" entitled "Serena Williams Celebrates Women of Courage". The content and inspiration I drew from it represented a strong 'volley' back, puts "Time" on its heels. This, then, also represents an addendum to my own "Listing".  

'In Vogue' (literally) - Profiles in Strength, Courage: "Resilience, endurance, character, and courage: These are all qualities superstar athlete Serena Williams has exhibited on the court, and in her personal life". So the article begins, and introduces Serena as a Bumble ambassador since 2019, who was instrumental in selecting five women who have been "pillars of their communities, each of whom have triumphed over adversity to help their communities" (through the recently turbulent times). Admittedly a tough assignment, given so many worthy individuals to choose from.

       In my life as a sports psychologist, I have used the Williams sisters on many occasions to illustrate many athletic as well as other traits essential to general life challenges. And, after a decade, Venus Williams' "Come to Win" (a compendium of testimonies from numerous successful professionals as to the value of their previous athletic endeavors in shaping their future success outside of sports) still resides on my office bookshelf, often a source of great quotes and insights. Together, the Williams sisters have definitely brought a new level of strength and athleticism to the sport. Aside from their individual and collective traits I draw from, there are some universal applications of tennis in general we can all relate to. The most frequent one I utilize is the concept of forced and unforced errors: the first type, one in which I use the Williams sisters again for illustration, is when your opponent hits a screaming serve right inside the line, one you could barely see let alone return, and you simply wave your racket, perhaps coupled with "nice serve, your point!" -- whereas the second type of error is illustrated by your opponent having fallen down (probably not Venus or Serena here) gives you an opportunity to simply finesse the ball into the open space and instead you get greedy and smash it into the net -- no mistake, this; it's a bad decision, it's all on you! We can all relate to both types of errors in our respective lives.

Heroes Unheralded: So back to the primary reason(s) for this post: I introduce five women selected by Serena and Bumble who, individually and collectively bring us inspiration and ample reason for hope. These women, who will go unnamed here (you can go to the source for their complete stories), range from a nurse who not only had to switch from cardio to COVID almost overnight, but also serve as surrogate family who are not allowed in...to a veteran teacher who had to learn a ton of tech almost overnight as well as dip into her own savings so her disadvantaged students could continue access...to an immigrant minority who utilized her previous experiences with Doctors Without borders to advocate for gender equality creatively and resourcefully throughout this pandemic period...to a woman who extended her nonprofit (Meals On Us) to shelters and the underemployed, "reducing food insecurity one healthy meal delivery at a time"...to a bakery owner who found within herself the wherewithal to adapt her bakery and continue to serve the needs of her customers, thereby inspiring other bakery and cafe' owners alike.

Game, Set, Match! It's Official--Vogue/Bumble victory over Time: And a huge THANK YOU to these five women and a 'league' of countless others. And THANK YOU Serena and Venus, for continuing to be a source of inspiration on and off the court. Tennis anyone?