The Anne Frank House

One of my first stops in Amsterdam few months ago was to the Anne Frank House. I was able to visit the home where this young, Jewish girl, hid with her family for two years.

It was so emotional to see the attic where she wrote her famous diary, her family's possessions and the way they lived, so quietly, so afraid.

I was struck by the extreme cruelty of our humanity. That many of the lessons we should have learned long ago about discrimination and the ways to treat each other we are still dealing with nearly 80 years later. It made me weep.

But I was also struck by the fact that Anne was able to dream about her future life, as a journalist, as a human rights activist, despite some who had no idea of her aspirations, and was able to achieve her wildest dreams - to publish a book beyond the grave and have everyone hear her voice.

This struck me because of the hurtful things that were poured into my soul about my value in the workplace after termination...things that were probably poured into so many people for different reasons.

I learned that no one has the power to control our destinies and that our possibilities are truly limitless.

I learned that we must raise our voices, dream big, and surpass the expectations that people have for us.

I confirmed that I must never stop speaking out against injustice and to keep lifting my voice. The impact can be greater than even I realize.

I learned to never let anyone box you in or tell you what you can achieve.