Today, for the 6th day of the "Women's History Month", we are celebrating this gorgeous young woman
“Meet Chloe Teboe, 27 years old, a Mainer and feminist with a passion for people and the arts.
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” — Angela Davis
The saying by some goes that to be a Mainer, you must be born and raised in the Pine Tree State. (In the most extreme of cases, that rule is extended to both of your parents, too.) I am proud to call myself a Mainer, although the caveat is I was born more than 1,500 miles away in Miami, Florida—where my Dad is from originally. In 2002, my parents made the decision to move our family north to the state where my Mom grew up on a dairy farm in a small, rural town. My parents built a beautiful home on a few acres of land in Brunswick, centered on a sprawling maple tree that would turn shades of bright red and orange in the fall. The childhood that I experienced with my younger sister, loving parents, and grandmother (“Gram”), who lived just a short 10-minute drive from us, is one that I wouldn’t trade for the world. The many golden-hour afternoons that my family and friends and I spent enveloped in nature, listening to peepers or crickets, depending on the season, remain some of my happiest memories.
My parents’ story isn’t really my story, per se—but I think their love has greatly shaped who I am today and what I value. When she was 18 years old, my Mom made the brave decision to move basically as far from home as possible to attend college as a first-generation college student. A jazz musician, my Mom auditioned for a band that involved other students from campus—namely, my Dad and his brother. She became the lead singer, and through their shared passion for music, my parents began dating. They were together for about two years until my Mom decided to leave the University of Miami for New York City to chase her dreams on a larger scale. The experiences that she led during that period of her life are hers to share, not mine—but seven years later, she looked up my Dad’s name while on a trip to Florida. The story goes that they had a cathartic conversation on a beach one night—and decades later, they have been married for 32 years and counting. My parents are the reason that I believe in soulmates and following your heart.
Perhaps that is what led me, at 18 years old, to take a similar path and move to a bigger place for college: Boston, Massachusetts. While music (singing and songwriting) is my first love, I was aware of the pitfalls of the industry, having had two parents who had been in it professionally. (My Dad has been a trombonist for his entire life, traveling at times around the world for months on end to make a living.) For that reason, I chose a major for what I thought would be a more stable career: broadcast journalism. I’m not sure if any teenager really ever knows or understands what they want to do for work, and I can’t fully explain why that was the path that I decided to take. I do know, however, that in college through the Honors program I was accepted into, my world views began to expand and develop. I started to care far more deeply about the topics to which I was gaining exposure—both as a broadcast journalism student figuring out how to put together a compelling video story and as an Honors student, writing a 90-something-page thesis paper my senior year. Learning about inequities baked into our society, understanding other cultures (which were often hard to come by in homogenous Maine), getting invested in pressing issues of the day, like protests after the Parkland school shooting and the tumultuous 2016 presidential election—those experiences were what began to fuel a new dream for me: becoming a changemaker.
In 2019, I graduated college a semester early and started a job just two weeks later as a digital content producer at NEWS CENTER Maine, the NBC affiliate that I had grown up watching in my home state. Over time, I earned roles as a reporter and then as a weekend morning anchor, often working shifts that started at 3 a.m. and consumed most of my day. As a reporter, I would find, coordinate, shoot, write, and edit most of my stories as a one-woman crew. While the job had amazing moments—like meeting Mainers from every corner of the state and getting to understand people with different beliefs and life experiences—it was also often unforgiving. After five years, I felt I was no longer getting the opportunities I required to do the storytelling about which I was truly passionate. That’s why in February of 2024, I made the difficult decision to leave the local news industry. I can honestly say that I haven’t looked back since then.
That moment of advocating for myself, and knowing that I deserved more than what I was getting, was significant for me. I grew up with parents who touted gentleness, humility, and dedication to hard work as being the ultimate qualities a person can achieve. I am so proud of that and who I have become as a result—but it usually means that in aggressive environments,like a local newsroom, it can be hard for me to feel seen and understood. I would also go so far as to say misogyny is still alive and well in the 21st century. You can imagine the double standards that exist for women and men in a profession that, in many ways, is quite superficial. As someone who struggled with body image issues for a long time—and still has bad days here and there—I knew that forever being subjected to life in front of a camera (and subsequent critiques about my appearance or personality) was perhaps not the future I wanted or deserved. Now, I am in a job where I feel my softer personality is my strength. I am learning every single day, becoming smarter and more confident as a leader—and I am grateful to feel accepted, supported, and valued by my colleagues. On the “other side” of journalism now, I have the freedom to be more vocal about my opinions and thoughts about the world in which we live. That makes me excited to potentially pursue more policy-oriented work in the future—whatever that may entail.
It is also important to me to have the ability to balance my job with other passions of mine—like singing and songwriting, feeling healthy (by eating good meals or doing cardio or Pure Barre—as a former dancer), spending time with my loved ones, getting creative with a camera, and doting on as many animals as possible. Knowing that we all only get one shot at life, my goal in 2025 is to be more decisive about what I want and to take concrete steps to get there. I want to live my life with the fewest amount of “what-ifs” possible. What would I do if I wasn’t afraid of judgment or failure? Who might I try to become? These are questions that, every day, I ponder—in the hopes that, eventually, I will be the happiest, most confident, truest version of myself. I feel like I am getting there slowly and steadily, one step at a time.
As a 27-year-old who has a lot left to learn, it seems silly to offer words of wisdom—when I am very much so still trying to figure out what life is supposed to be all about for me personally. Regardless, I was grateful to be asked to be a part of Renata O’Donnell’s 2025 Women’s History Month Project; I did a story about her photography when I was a reporter, and something she said to me struck a chord—that far too often, many American women are embarrassed to have their picture taken or to talk about themselves. (I am, admittedly, one of them!) “Why is that, though?” she prodded. And, she makes a salient point: Why shouldn’t we take the time to recognize how much we as women do every single day and all that we have overcome—and, for a fleeting moment, just be proud of that? To live by the words of Madeleine Albright: “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”
Another one of Chloe's Favorite quotes:
“Women have always been the strong ones of the world.” ― Coco Chanel
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Thank you, Chloe, for sharing your story and empowering others!
#womenshistorymonth #womansupportingwomen #womanpower #mainephotographer
4 Comments
Mar 15, 2025, 9:28:55 AM
Ramona Sheerer - Great story! Glad you are finding yourself and living for you!
Mar 14, 2025, 3:14:43 PM
Gary Lindsay - With the stability of your amazing parents and sister and your great outlook on life, you are well on your way to an important and fulfilling life. I know you make your family proud.
Mar 9, 2025, 9:00:31 AM
Sam prout - Chloe, I'm sad that you are no longer on my TV, but happy to see that you are thriving away from it. Not surprised, though. Also, thank you for knowing how to spell the past tense of 'lead.' Not many do. sam
Mar 8, 2025, 9:12:13 AM
Sam prout - Chloe, While I'm sad that you are no longer on my TV, I am happy to see that you are thriving away from it. Also, thank you for knowing how to spell the past tense of 'lead,' not many seem to. Sam Prout