hen Belva Lockwood was ten years old she read that with a little bit of faith anyone could move a mountain She took the words literally Of course Belva didn't try to move a whole mountain after all she was just a child A hill seemed much more appropriate She scouted around until she found the perfect one She picked out a small hill outside her house and concentrated all of her willpower on moving it She had faith in herself and she was determined to move that hill even if it was just the tiniest little bit The hill stayed put But Belva never stopped trying to move
Belva was born on a farm in Niagara County New York in 1830 She was the second of five children and she described herself as a simple country girl and the daughter of a poor farmer But humble beginnings didn't stop Belva from aiming high Years after the mountain moving incident after getting married having a daughter being widowed graduating from college working as a teacher starting a suffrage group and marrying again Belva decided she wanted to be a lawyer She was thirty nine years old smart spirited and willing to work hard But no law school would admit her One said Mrs Beha A Lockwood Madam The Faculty of Columbian College have considered our request to be admitted to the Law Department of this institution and after due consultation have considered that such admission would not be expedient as it would be likely to distract the attention of the young men Two other law schools never even responded to her application A mountain was blocking the way to her dream Belva set about to move the mountain and this time she wasn't going to
