Inspiring Women February 2023
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profile<br />
A Life Spent Not Fitting<br />
Into the Behaving-Likea-Lady<br />
Stereotype<br />
Melissa Meyer Mash, a member of the AW Surrey International <strong>Women</strong>’s<br />
Group, has lived following her mother’s example of not worrying about<br />
being different.<br />
Melissa Mash<br />
I<br />
grew up in Milltown, New Jersey. My<br />
mom and dad found our lakeside<br />
property while on a bike ride. They stopped<br />
and talked to the farmer who was selling his<br />
land. Dad built the place by himself and the end<br />
product was a pink house with three differently<br />
angled roofs. Certainly different from the others<br />
on the block! I never had to go further than the<br />
end of our sidewalk to find friends and fun.<br />
My mom liked to be different<br />
My mom was always a trend setter. When<br />
other kids had Christmas trees with lights and<br />
baubles, we had trees with doves and cardinals<br />
or candles and gold bows. One time we had a<br />
Hawaiian theme at school so I asked to borrow<br />
my mom’s seashell bracelet. She told me to wear<br />
it on my ankle instead of my wrist. It made a<br />
wonderful sound as the shells clinked together<br />
and I was egged on by my classmates to get up<br />
on the table of the library and do a dance, which<br />
I did. I ended up in the principal’s office. Mom<br />
was secretly amused and told me to never worry<br />
about being different<br />
How come I live in Surrey?<br />
It’s quite simple to explain how I ended up living<br />
in Godalming, Surrey: I met a handsome Brit<br />
and moving to England with him seemed to be<br />
quite an adventure, which, in fact, has proven to<br />
be true!<br />
Melissa doing a<br />
preflight check<br />
on her Cessna<br />
182.<br />
A different<br />
kind of flying!<br />
48 INSPIRING WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN 49