Have you ever taken a moment to step back and really ask yourself, “if I could sit and eat dinner with any three people, who would they be?" Would it be a famous author, a musician, an astronaut? What kind of conversations would you have, and what questions would you ask them? Whether they are still alive today or not, people leave legacies based on the way they live their lives, as well as the way they choose to make decisions.

For me, I know exactly who I would choose to invite to my house for dinner… and why?

The first guest I would have at my table would be first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. I first encountered Mrs. Roosevelt’s famous words when I watched The Princess Diaries with Anne Hathaway. In this movie, Hathaway’s bodyguard Joe says that “no one can make you feel inferior without your consent." How powerful a phrase is that! We are responsible for the way that we feel, and the reality is that no one has the power to make us feel one way or another. The way we react is always our choice. Mrs. Roosevelt made this concept a reality, as she led the way for women and for others as well. Her work on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights speaks volumes about what her character was like.

My second guest would have to be one of my favorite authors, Maya Angelou. So many of her words have given me inspiration, and if you’ve never had the chance to check out her work, I highly recommend that you do so. Angelou was not only a poet and memoirist, but she was also a civil rights activist. One of my favorite quotes by Angelou is when she stated that “my wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are.To astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness." Angelou gives us hope that we can continue to be exactly who we are, even when the world retaliates against us and tells us we cannot who we are.

The third and final guest that I would invite to dinner would be Mother Teresa. A woman who lived her life making sacrifices for other people is truly an incredible role model, demonstrating how we should go about our daily lives. Serving others brings a life of fulfillment and joy, which Mother Teresa allows us to understand though her powerful words. Mother Teresa believed that “peace begins with a smile" and that we should train ourselves to “spread love wherever [we] go. Let no one ever come to [us] without leaving happier." I wholeheartedly agree with the ideas that she professed, and I feel as though the world would be a much better place if we all put her concepts into action.

Through my research and personal interests, I have come to realize that the way I think is quite similar to the way that these people think, and I feel as though we would get a lot accomplished if we had the opportunity to share a meal together. One thing that I can say about all of these women is that, above all, they chose to show love, kindness, and strength against everything they faced. These are the actions that I would like to choose as well; their examples have certainly made an impact on who I am as a person.