The first time I ventured into the women's studies section of the TWU library (oh, how I miss that library), I was shocked at how little I knew about women's contribution to science, literature, art, politics, religion, music, and every other facet of life, society, and culture. I thought I was fairly well-read in grade school, yet in the women's studies section of the library, I found book after book by and about women I had never heard of - Remedios Varo, Octavia Butler, Rosalind Franklin, Tina Modotti, Lise Meitner, Ida Lupino, Julia Margaret Cameron, Jacqueline du Pre, Artemisia Gentileschi, Clara Schumann, Frida Kahlo, Alice Coltrane, and countless others. It was like getting the other half of my education.
I'm grateful that in just about every class I took at TWU, we learned about women's contribution to what we were studying. I'm also grateful that even after graduating from college, I never lost the habit of keeping an eye and an ear out for women doing remarkable things. It's become a near-daily occurrence, thank goodness.
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