Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.
It's kind of true, you do disappear off the planet if you are a middle-aged woman, but that has some advantages as well.
I would say that social work began in my mind in the Unitarian Church when I was ten or twelve years old, and I started to do things that I thought would help other people.