Somewhere along the line in high school, there was an assignment that involved picking a controversial topic, picking a side and defending your opinion. Persuasive writing - that's what it was called. I think I ended up picking the death penalty, but I could be wrong. I had such a hard time with this paper because I couldn't pick a side. For the longest time, I couldn't pick a side on anything. I had no opinions. I had no beliefs.

I know exactly when this changed. When I studied abroad in London, my whole world view changed. I was forced to think about things, to examine my beliefs, and to pick sides. Nothing was safe. My beliefs about everything - politics, religion, life, family - were all turned upside down.

Over the last three years, my beliefs have become more ingrained in who I am. I believe what I believe because I've asked questions and thought long and hard about issues. For a long time I had a hard time expressing my opinions and beliefs because I didn't want to offend anyone or hurt any one's feelings. I now realize, of course, that this is ridiculous and it only made me boring.

There's a quote out there from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich - "Well behaved women seldom make history." I don't want to be a well-behaved woman anymore, and I sure don't want Lauren growing up to be one, either. I want her to be a fierce, independent, free-thinker, capable of making bold decisions and asking questions. To do this, she needs a role model. That's why I'm going to make more of an effort to get involved in things that I believe in. It's hard, especially in this area, for me to find like-minded people, but I'm going to try.

And I'm going to buy bumper stickers. Lots of bumper stickers. Since I'm going to be driving my car until it dies, I might as well make it pretty!