HER PLACE IN THE PROJECT:

Madeleine Robling is a one of a handful of close female friends I made in college with whom I plan on sticking with through the long-haul, through the jobs and relationships and long-distance phone calls to come. I first knew Madeleine proximally at Ball State through a shared scholarship and through my Daily News co-worker (and eventual BFF) Margo, who was her roommate. I shipped their roommate-friendship from afar for a long time; I remember walking back to my dorm from the dining hall and noticing them sitting on a blanket together, laughing in the sunshine, and I thought, I’d love to have friends like that. In the words of a phrase that is both corny and extremely sincere, I could tell from the start that our energies would vibe. Since then, Madeleine and Margo have become some of my closest friends.

When I initially dreamed up Project Brave Woman, my intention was to interview women who were older and more experienced than me so that I might look to their already-paved paths as examples of how best to move forward. While looking to the stories of women who are (relatively) older than me is still a vital part of this project, I realized that in order to gather a full picture of bravery and authenticity in the women around me, I needed to also look to my peers, to the women who were going through transition and change in the same climate and time period as me. Doing this not only brought out discussions that were focused on issues specifically relevant to cultivating female authenticity and bravery in 2019, but also started an ongoing and open dialogue about change in real-time. I am hopeful that the conversations I started with Madeleine and Maren, the other peer I interviewed for this project, helped them to feel connected to the bravery and authenticity of other young women currently going through transition as much as it helped me.

Once I decided to include peers in the project, Madeleine was the first person who came to mind. She was a good choice for practical reasons; she had graduated a year early from college, and her head start allowed me to ask her questions about her transition from college to adulthood that I would not have been able to ask peers who were still in school with me. I also knew from personal conversations with Madeleine that she had already gone through many life experiences that had changed her as a person, and that we would have a lot to discuss and talk about concerning her evolving journey towards bravery and authenticity.  

But beyond the practical reasons, Madeleine was a great choice for this project because, to me, she is the embodiment of so many of the brave qualities I aspire to have. She uses her voice to advocate for others, she lives her life with a deep sense of honesty and integrity, and she seems constantly to be thinking about ways to make the world around her more fair, equitable and just for all of humanity. One of the things I love about my friendship with Madeleine is how deep our love for each other is regardless of differences in personality and disposition. I feel like our friendship allows me to constantly grow and evolve, and I hope that it does the same for her. Through her As-Told To Story, I wanted to capture that personal evolution I feel when in conversation with Madeleine for a broader audience. Linked below is her As Told-To Story, which was compiled from two discussions we had in February and April 2019. Visit the Lessons Learned: Interviews page to read my four big takeaways from Madeleine’s interview.