Inspiring Women February 2023

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