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Spotlight on Allison Rapson: Woman inspiring other women to rise

posted by ChickSpeak
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 7:52pm CST

Regardless if it’s in our careers, our relationships, our self-image or just by wearing sky-high heels -women are rising to new heights in all areas of our lives.We go for the extra hour of overtimes, run for an additional five minutes when we feel like we’re going to collapse, and we sign up to help lead another community fundraiser -just because we know we can help.

However, on the way to the top, it’s important to remember your fellow sister when you’re rising to new heights. One woman, Allison Rapson, discovered the key to being a woman on the rise is to support one another in our efforts.

To empower and enlighten women of all ages, Rapson created We Are Women Rising, a blog dedicated to inspiring women to not only be women who aim for better lives and environments for themselves, but for their girlfriends and females everywhere.

Rapson took the time to speak with ChickSpeak and give chicks tips to being a woman on the rise:

ChickSpeak: What is We Are Women Rising?

Allison Rapson: In my mind Women Rising is a small, right action. It’s a tiny, but pivotal, move in the right direction. It’s a platform for a conversation that I feel, intrinsically. I just believe that women have this infinite capacity for wisdom and that, in turn, the women rising have an insatiable hunger for it. I’ve been forever changed and abundantly blessed by the women in my life and I created Women Rising because it would have been too selfish for me to keep those women to myself.

CS: It’s such a fabulous idea. How did you come up the blog?

AR: Through a conversation with one of my mentors, Patricia Smith Melton. I was talking to her about her work with Peace X Peace and was attempting to tap into her wisdom when she said something that had a spine-snapping effect on me. She said:

“I would advise all young women to really look for a mentor. Study some of the women who inspire you. What do they say? What is their wisdom? What have they done?

The trick is for you to realize that what you are giving is also a gift. Like right now, as you sit here with me, I am receiving a gift. I am seeing your youth, your beauty, your passion. I am hearing your goals. And I am thinking to myself, “The world is going to be safe. Look at this young woman. Look at what she is doing. Look at the women rising, at how they are taking responsibility.”

I can know that there is not just a hand-off to be done-it is already well, well, well underway. That, to me, is such an immense gift. Because this work can be difficult, and so the more connection that you have, the more you realize the power of women rising.”

There are moments in our lives when we hear something and it just sounds different. For me, listening to these words from Patricia was an absolute call to action. I needed to take this conversation and weave it into my life’s work. And so I did.

CS: What is your goal with We Are Women Rising?

AR: To set fire to a conversation the whole world needs to be having because it is time to listen to the women.

CS: What’s your history in online media, publishing or journalism?

AR: I have worked across several NBC properties, from NBC News, to entertainment to digital. I currently work for a The Week Magazine as the Online Marketing Manager. I love it-it is a privilege for me to get paid to know what is going on in the world.

CS: What’s the last song you downloaded on iTunes?

AR: “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down.” I Shazamed it while I was out having dinner in the West Village with one of my girlfriends. It’s perfectly melancholy and beautiful-exactly the kind of song I adore.

CS: What beauty product are you currently obsessed with?

AR: I don’t feel myself if I’m not wearing Yves Saint Laurent lipstick in #131. I promise you that it’s the prettiest, most perfect red you’ll ever put on. Try it. You’ll feel like a mega-woman!

CS: What three women do you admire? How have they inspired you?

AR: I have been enormously impacted by the great women that have inspired me. But, I would never name just three because I believe in women as a collective whole. That’s not to say that I don’t prize individuality, because I absolutely do. I am just inspired by what we can do together. There is this Chinese proverb that I was thinking of getting tattooed on my body (I didn’t because I couldn’t decide on the right place), but the proverb says, “When sleeping women wake, mountains move.” It gives me butterflies to think about what will happen when we all wake up. Perhaps Women Rising will be the proverbial alarm clock…

CS: How can college women become involved with We Are Women Rising?

AR: By being boldly and beautifully themselves. Really, that’s what it’s all about.

CS: Where do you hope to see yourself in ten years?

AR: Eventually, I want my name to be synonymous with global female empowerment. It’s not just what my heart wants, it is my heart. I am very clear on this ultimate goal, but fully recognize that there are so many ways to get there. The joy is in the journey and right now I am blissful.

CS: What does it mean to you to be a woman on the rise?

AR: To be constantly stepping further and further into who I’ve always been. The thing is you never accomplish anything that hasn’t always been within your realm of possibility. The tree never grows into something bigger or more beautiful than the seed always had the capacity to be.

CS: What keeps you motivated? Where do you get your drive?

AR: My motivation and drive come from taking my passion seriously. If I feel it this deeply, if I am this impacted, then it is my responsibility to do something.

CS: What advice do you give to young women who want to make a difference in the world?

AR: Your job, in this moment, is not to figure out what the world needs. Your job is to really get in the trenches of figuring out who you are. It’s messy work, but how can you wander through life without understanding, deeply, who you are? You need to know what makes you feel electric. When you know what that thing is, you will know what your purpose is. Then you can go out and change the world. On purpose.

Lindsay Tigar is the Editor-at-Large for ChickSpeak and has been featured on We Are Women Rising as a woman on the rise. She encourages all women to strive for the very best in their lives, and to bring sunshine and encouragement to every woman she meets.