photo courtesy: Lu Tapp Photography
It’s not everyday a TV show writer and producer becomes a household name. But after churning out hit TV show, after hit TV show, Shonda Rhimes has done just that. Best known for her riveting, salacious White House thriller featuring Kerry Washington, Scandal, Rhimes has risen to the upper echelon of behind-the-scenes royalty; Anything she’s touches turns to Hollywood gold.
But as many royals will admit, the price you pay for a seat on the throne is a hefty one.
“Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life,” said the Grey’s Anatomy creator when she addressed her alma mater, Dartmouth College.
Sure, the general public knows her as the woman who takes hostage their attention throughout the week with her suspenseful, emotional and soul-stirring television shows, but at home, three little girls know her simply as Mommy. The single mother explained how she takes on the arduous task of finding the perfect work-life balance in two simple words: “I don’t.”
“If I am killing it on a Scandal script for work, I am probably missing bath and story time at home, she explained. “If I am at home sewing my kid’s Halloween costumes, I am probably blowing off a rewrite I was supposed to turn in.”
And her candor didn’t stop there. In a speech as attention-grabbing as a Scandal script, Rhimes continued on delivering a message to curious new graduates and empathetic parents and supporters that truly conveyed the nearly impossible goal, we all try to reach everyday of giving it your all at home and on the job
“That is the tradeoff. That is the Faustian bargain one makes with the devil that comes with being a powerful working woman who is also a powerful mother,” said the hit-show creator. She continued, “And yet I want my daughters to see me and know that I am the one who works. I wouldn’t want them to know the me who didn’t get to do this all day long.”
In one the more memorable moments of her commencement speech the 1991 college grad told the audience to find a movement or cause they love and dedicate some in-person time to it, “I say that it will allow you to remember that whether you’re a legacy or the first in your family to go to college, the air you are breathing right now is rare air. Appreciate it—don’t be an asshole.”
Well said, Ms. Rhimes!
