My whole life I've been blessed to be a part of younger girls lives. I work and try to be a good example for them. I always want them to be able to come to me and feel appreciated, listened to, understood and loved.
There's something fantastic about the love you receive from your family. But it's a different kind of fantastic when you are loved by a role model that you look up to.
I'm speaking from experience, of course. I've had and still have some amazing women in my life that have helped shape me and teach me and watch me grow. And I am so thankful for them.
(Please don't get me wrong. I'm not putting down parents at all here. God knows they are the biggest influences a child can ever have.)
Throughout my time as a mentor or even just an older friend with more experience, I have compiled a list of a few things that I want every young girl to know.
Write everything down.
Simple as that. A lyric from a song you love. A quote that inspired you. Your favorite paragraph from your favorite book. Write down compliments people give you. Never put pen to paper, however, when someone was cruel. There is no reason to look back and remember that. Write down your whole life. When you're 25 and look back at the notebook you kept all of your personal, inspirational secrets in you'll be reminded of your journey. Each line filled with another word that captured a piece of your heart will remind you of what you thought to be profound at that time. And most likely, you'll still agree with it and love it and cherish it.
Surround yourself with people that will raise you up.
This is pretty much what it sounds like. Do not spend time with a group of others that do not praise you or encourage you. Now listen, you need friends that will call you out when you are making a mistake. But that situation should be surrounded by love as well. You want people that want the best for you. And sometimes you have to wait for those people. Sometimes you'll feel a little alone at times. But that alone feeling is much better than keeping company with those that will bring you down.
Respect yourself and your body.
Girls, what do you gain by putting pictures out there that are provocative and suggestive? What are you winning? Do those pictures not just start drama with other girls and also bring about the wrong kind of attention that you really would like (and deserve) from a boy? The older I get, the younger the girls are that are starting down this path. And it's not just pictures. Technology allows people to share secrets and feel safe sharing things that no one my age would have ever said in our hand-written notes we passed around class. Grow up a classy lady. Respect who you are and your morals and keep it a little mysterious by monitoring what you put out for everyone to see. You can be beautiful in a million other ways.
Love yourself more.
A girl longs to be loved. From a young age we start playing with baby dolls and make believe house. But those are all just things on the surface that others can see. We dream. Hard. When I was younger I remember the adventures I would go on in my back yard. It wasn't always princesses and knights. It was climbing the tallest mountain. It was crossing the ocean to get to my best friend. It was running away from the bad guys and riding my bike around the block as fast as I possibly could just so I could close my eyes, feel the wind and pretend I was flying for just a second. When you get older and get caught up in the relationship/boyfriend/I-need-to-be-loved stage just please remember that even though it's a beautiful part of growing up you need to love yourself. You need to remember that you can dream bigger and beyond the boy that is in front of your face. He may last forever or he may last a few months. And when you lose someone, it's going to hurt. But if that happens, choose to love yourself more. And treat yourself accordingly.
Today is not all there is.
When I was younger my idea of the future was the end of that day. Of course, we all look forward to planned vacations or the weekend. What I am talking about is when you're stuck in a hard time, today is not all there is. There's a beautiful plan for your life that you have no idea about. Don't focus on the shadow of that day, look for the sunshine that will come. BUT, savor every minute you have. There's even the smallest bit of happy in everyday. So what a blessing that today is not all there is. Tomorrow may bring even more happiness. And even more the next.
I could sit one of the girls that I watched grow up and have learned to love as if she was my own sister and go on and on about what I want her to know. I want younger girls to grow up beautiful, respectable and to love themselves.
