From grandmother to mother to daughter, the women in our family experienced firsthand the many gifts of sports, but also the academic and professional advantages. Sports gave us a sense of ourselves, our power, and the willingness to dig deep to turn challenging situations around.

As a teenage girl, I used to study the photos of those otherworldly creatures and marvel at their sheer perfection -- Kathy Ireland, Christie Brinkley, Cheryl Tiegs and Paulina Porizkova, the Czech beauty who was rumored to speak five languages. Did these astonishing creatures actually exist?

It's OK to be unapologetically awesome.

Here's the American Association of University Women's rundown of the good, the bad and the downright ugly for women in 2012.

In 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of selecting a theme for the official White House Christmas tree. John F. Kennedy, meanwhile, started something else during that holiday season: On Dec. 14, he established the President's Commission on the Status of Women.

More women in sports means better public health all round, and will help to ensure that women can thrive and gain equality with men. Luckily, as the Olympics revealed, the determination of many women to succeed, in sports -- and in other realms, too -- is stronger than ever.