Be encouraged. Be bold. Be badass.

Volcano Hopper hanging out with a lava flow on Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii.

Some of the most badass people I’ve ever met are women.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, think about some of the women you’ve met in your travels. Mothers, wives, daughters. Women who raise strong families, or who shatter glass ceilings. No matter the career, or stage in life, every woman around you is redefining the world around us.

Many careers and lifestyles were previously not available to women. Over history, women have fought for the right to own property, to vote, to hold jobs. And one of the career fields that has seen a drastic rise in women over the last quarter century is the scientific community.

When I was a teenager, a friend of mine arranged a tour for me at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. I loved every moment. (What can I say? I love nature at its spunkiest!) The science and technology were fascinating, and the research being done was inspiring. However, the entire day that I was there, I saw exactly one woman. And she was the receptionist.

Where were all the women? When I do research on past volcanic eruptions, I am always curious about the scientists who did research on those particular events. Who were they, and what unique ideas and perspectives did they bring to the table? Searching through pages and pages of references for events such as Mt. St. Helens, or Mt. Pinatubo, I’m often hard pressed to find even one female volcanologist on the case. Women volcanologists and geologists used to be extremely rare.

Fast forward to today. Women are starting to make their mark in the scientific community. Geological surveys now staff many brilliant women volcanologists. These ladies are writing fantastic papers about the amazing discoveries they are making. They’re studying volcanic weather (such as lightning and hail). They’re busy analyzing eruptions, volcanic sounds, and seismic patterns, and they’re assessing volcanic hazards. So here’s a shout out to all the women in volcanology and geology. You ladies rock! And let’s not forget the rest of the women who are in the scientific community – you’re changing the world as we know it and are blowing the cosmos wide open.

As a writer, I’ve been blessed to talk to so many incredible men and women in the scientific community. Listening to their stories and putting boots on the ground with them is nothing short of amazing! But even breaking into writing as a woman has had its challenges – especially when you’re writing about science.

Working in a previously male-dominated arena has never been daunting to me. Every person has their own unique personality and puts their own spin to the research being done. For me, the male/female debate has never mattered. But apparently, for some people it does.

Think of some of today’s most popular authors, especially in the sci-fi arena. Does J.D. Robb ring a bell? How about J.K. Rowling? There are a host of women authors out there who use male pseudonyms to publish their work, or who use their initials so that their gender can’t be defined. They’re told that they’ll have better success publishing in these genres if they don’t show that they’re a woman. The reasons? There are many different theories. Maybe some are true. Others are hogwash. But I believe that the quality of a person’s work should be determined by far different factors than whether they are a man or woman.

When I started writing as Volcano Hopper, I seriously debated whether I should share with the world that I am a woman. Should I put some feminine flair in the logo? Or should I keep everything gender neutral? I’ve been working on a new logo lately – which I will reveal to you all in the next few weeks – and the debate continued. Should I write under a pseudonym? Hashing all this out, for me, is more daunting than skipping across a barely-crusted-over lava flow.

This is what it has boiled down to for me: I am not timid about who I am, or the passion I have for volcanoes. I’m not going to hide it. And somewhere out there is a young woman, who someday is going to need to decide if she should bust down the barriers and follow her passions. I want to show her to be herself and be bold in her pursuit of whatever may be in her heart. I want her to be another badass woman who is shattering the ceilings.

So women – don’t give up on your dreams and keep pushing until they’re a reality. We are making the future that we want our children to have, and are setting the stage for our daughters to be successful.

And men – thank you to those of you who continually encourage the ladies in your life, and recognize the beautiful perspective they add to the world.

Be encouraged. Be bold. Be badass.

And as always, Happy Hopping!