“I want to throw my hands in the air after reading a mean Twitter comment and say, ‘All right! You got it. You figured me out. I’m not pretty. I’m not thin. I do not deserve to use my voice... All my self-worth is based on what you can see.’ But then I think, F**k that.”

If every girl on social media could respond to a hurtful Tweet or insulting comment in the same way that Amy Schumer does, they would all be a lot better off. The comedian, writer, actress, and producer, Amy Schumer, has all the qualities that girls in this day and age need as a role model and influential figure. Amy empowers women, in essence, to stop caring. Stop caring about outside opinions on your appearance, on your dreams, on your eating habits, on your sexual behaviors, on your personal life. There are far too many influential female figures who may not go right out and say it, but make it fairly clear to girls that other’s opinions on themselves matter greatly. If they didn’t believe that were true, they wouldn’t be portraying themselves in an idealistic, impossible to achieve, manner. Amy Schumer is just as real as every other actress or famous figure, the only difference is she doesn’t hide that reality or try to change herself in the process.

Amy is opening frequently closed barriers with her humor that is often labeled as raunchy, explicit, or crude. As Amy puts it, “I get labeled as a sex comic. But if a guy got up onstage and pulled his dick out, everybody would say, ‘He’s a thinker.’” She is a comedian who also happens to be a female. One shouldn’t have to affect the other, but it does. Amy utilizes her influential, comedic voice to bring up touchy subjects that would not normally be talked about, but need to be. She isn’t making these kind of jokes just for the laugh, she’s making them to send a message. For example, when she makes a joke about sexual abuse it isn’t because she finds sexual abuse funny, it’s because she thinks it needs to be a topic people feel comfortable talking about and not something that should be kept hidden under the rug. The same can be said for when she talks about many social issues, her insecurities, and one of her favorites, sex.

If that doesn’t convince you that Amy Schumer should be your idol, her success alone should. She is the creator, star, writer, and producer of her own TV show on Comedy Central, Inside Amy Schumer, as well as the movie, Trainwreck. She has acquired many accolades, a few being, the Writers Guild Award for best Comedy/Variety sketch series, the Critics Choice Television Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and a Peabody. She proves that you don’t have to be strikingly skinny or impossibly flawless to be a successful female.She’s able to take physical appearances out of the equation and force people to listen to what she actually has to say. She isn’t afraid to be brutally honest, and with her talent, that honesty usually leads to laughter, and that laughter is what has gained her the fame she has today. Amy Schumer determines her own worth and isn’t afraid to let people know it. So please, ditch the Kardashians and make Amy Schumer your new role model, you won’t regret it.