"It dawned on me in that moment that I had become a role model, like a mother to her daughters, of what women can do if we work hard and dream large" (Blue Star Bound, 55).

When I started my language school in Liberia, Costa Rica in 2010, I did not have any bold  intentions of empowering women. That thought had not even crossed my mind. Within the first year of business I realized, however, that I was doing exactly that. 

In a town where women had few opportunities, and most did not complete High School or University, I was different. I was a California girl and sole owner of a business on foreign soil. Quickly becoming a public figure in that small Costa Rican town, I was nontraditional in more than one way, given my college degrees, divorced status, and lack of children.

My memoir, Blue Star Bound, is about how I became a woman with a legacy during those years of operating my school. In reality, I just worked like a dog and didn't give up. I made my own path and focused on living authentically. It was a lonely yet powerful experience that taught me a lot about resilience.

People noticed. And women were inspired. Two of those women bought my school in 2022  and have been absolutely crushing it ever since.

As I get ready to start teaching High School next week, in what will be my fifth school year back in the States after 16 in Costa Rica, I find myself in a similar position of empowering women. 

Yet again, I hadn't given much thought to my influence on my students. I have simply done my best to survive the everyday demands of my profession. But last year I started noticing the way that many teenaged girls looked at me. Was that admiration in their eyes? Was it respect? Once again, I started realizing my potential to be an example to them.

Nowadays, with the Tradwife movement telling girls to restrict their dreams to a single vision of being a wife and mother, young women need strong role models more than ever. If a girl wants to be a Tradwife, that is fine, of course. But she should know that other excellent options are at her fingertips.

I know because I lived it.

I was raised in a Christian non-denominational church to be a Tradwife long before that term became popular. I was encouraged to marry young and have children. Going to college was not supposed to be in the cards for me. I never dreamed that I would one day start my own business and help underprivileged kids through a non-profit that I co-founded in Costa Rica. Young Bethany planned to stay in her small town, her church and her gender-lane until she died.  

Thanks to my grandpa and many warrior women who influenced me along the way, I came to believe that there was more than one avenue for living a fulfilling life. 

My way was unique and perfect for me. 

I want girls within my scope of impact to trust that their dreams are unique and perfect for them as well. For that is true empowerment.