Yes, This Is My Life

            Hello my fellow readers and followers ! I would first like to start off by formally introducing myself to you all. My name is Elizabeth Blackwell, and yes, THE Elizabeth Blackwell. Some may know me as Bess, or as my father’s favorite name to call me, “Little Shy” since I was a timid and meek girl in my childhood. I was born on February 3, 1821 to two unique and loving parents, Samuel and Hannah Blackwell. My native town is Bristol, England and I was born the fourth child of my large family. My parents were fortunate enough to have a large family consisting on nine children, giving me two brothers and six sisters. Unfortunately, as I grew up I experienced the many losses of my siblings and even relatives. All of my sibling, including the two brothers and six sisters I had, along with eight of my cousins passed away at a young age as I was still coming of age. After I saw the reality of life and how much the death of a family member, or in my case, almost all of my family members, I made a solemn to my deceased siblings, my parents, and myself that I would one day grow up to become a doctor to babies and woman. You may wonder why I didn’t include men. Well, that is because, men already have all the rights and privileges they can dream of, but as for women it is a different story. It is hard for us women to have the same equal rights that men are given. Therefore I would like to become a doctor specifically for women. That brings me to yet another important factor that contributed to the many aspects of my childhood that helped develop me into the woman I am today. As for my education as a child, my parents are the ones to thank for that. They tried to instill a sense of equality into our family and household life. My father refused to accept the rule of the established church which led to some disadvantages, such as my siblings and I being denied acceptance into public schools. Being rejected from such schools, private tutors were hired by my father to instruct us. My siblings and I were not taught what other regular students learned though. Instead, my brothers, my sister, and I were all taught the same subjects. My private instructors went against English tradition so my sisters and I were given equal learning opportunities, which were the exact same as my brothers. It may seem as if I grew up through an easy life, but my family has been through our own burdens as well. When I was eleven, my father’s thriving sugar business was burnt down in a fire, causing our family to go into complete poverty. He soon died after the destruction, leaving our family without an income. That left me searching for a job, to help earn wages for my family’s income. After receiving some more encouragement of becoming a doctor from close family and friends, I seeked opportunites of going to a college to further my studies. My life has now grown tremendously from all the experiences of my childhood. I am now proud to say I am the first woman doctor in the United States of America, and have paved the way for other young women to accomplish their dreams of helping people.

Oh ! Here's a decent self-portrait !

http://www.elizabeth-blackwell.com/images/artist/11507.jpg