I spent last weekend in Portland, Oregon, enjoying a birthday celebration for Kayla Fioravanti of Essential Wholesale. Among the fantastic things we did was to watch the new movie, Julie & Julia. Based on the true stories of the lives of chef Julia Child (brilliantly played by Meryl Streep) and New York-based writer Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams), the movie chronicles Julie's journey from frustrated cubicle dweller to empowered woman on a mission, and Julia's journey from frustrated housewife to empowered women on a mission.
In this final scene from the movie (yes, I snapped a photo from Row 2), Julie poses in front of a photo of Julia in the Julia Child's kitchen on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The scene captures the essence of what it means to be a woman of influence. Julia's fortitude touched Julie in ways that were as unplanned as they were magical.
Both women loved to cook. And besides being female, married and frustrated, Julie and Julia had one other significant thing in common: the written word.
Julia recorded her thoughts on an old typewriter and two pieces of paper with a carbon sheet between so she could have two copies. Julie used a laptop and a blog. No carbon, no paper needed.
Decades and oceans apart, each woman used the written word to express an almost maniacal passion for cooking. In so doing, not only did they discover a new lease on life, each also discovered a new career as an entrepreneur.
Julia Child went on to become a celebrated chef, television show host and cookbook author. Julie extricated herself from an uninspiring job to become the writing career of her dreams.
And it all started with the written word.
Neither woman knew what was going to happen when she started recording her thoughts. Neither planned to become a published author. Neither planned to be in television or the movies. They planned nothing, except to explore a passion and use the technological means of their time to share it with the world.
Using the written word to express ourselves in ways that inspire, encourage, inform and entertain other people is the only means we have of changing the world. It was the same in Julie Child's time and it's the same in ours.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Even in our advanced digital age, it is still heartfelt communication, not technology, that makes the world go 'round. And blogging is an unsurpassed way to make that happen.
Question: If you have seen Julie & Julie, what did you think? Did you notice that, as each woman expressed herself, she grew more confident and excited about life? If you're a blogger, has blogging done this for you?
