CSW

I am so excited to announce that I will be attending the Commission on the Status of Women in March of 2015!! This is an unbelievable opportunity for which I get to speak about global issues that I am extremely passionate about and meet others that are just as passionate as I am. I heard that there is a lot of pre-work that I will need to complete for this event and hopefully I will be able to complete at least part of my gold award project by then. I am so greatful for everyone that has supported me through all my journeys, can't wait to have yet another aweing experience thanks to Girl Scouts :) 

Sororities

I am not against sororities. I think they are good for some people. But, I myself would never join one. Personally, I think that it is basically a group of girls that selects who you can be friends with and who you can't. Also, a majority of the time is spent partying (at least the ones that I have seen). One of my very close friends moved away to college this past year and joined a sorority. Not only does she post all the time about her drunken excursions, but when my friend is sober, she does not think anything is fun. They drink every night of the week except Wednesday's (and yes every night means school nights). Now I agree that partying occasionally can be fun, but more than once every other week or so is a little much for me. Maybe I don't understand because I am still in high school and I don't live with my best friends and "everyone is doing it" but I still do not see the point. And the worst part of it all is that when my friend remembers the night before (did not black out), she considers it a bad night.

I am not trying to bash sororities because I truly think that they could be utilized in a way that helps the community. Like if one were to focus on helping the hungry and another focus on how to bring clean drinking water to those who need it, sororities would be using their members and resources for the greater good. But I have only seen partying and I believe college is for an education, not just to have a great time on a Tuesday night and wake up Wednesday morning not to remember anything.

I Want A Wife

In english a couple of days ago, our homework was to read a short narrative titled "I Want A Wife." In this short passage written in the 70's, Judy Brady explains all the responsibilities of being a wife. She does it in such a way where she starts every paragraph with "I want a wife who will..." It is astounding how much has changed since the 70's, but at the same time how much we still need to do. She explains that while men go back to school to get higher degrees, or leave for work all day or go to social events, wives are always at home cooking, cleaning and taking care of their kids. Although many women have a regular day job now and it is normal for females to work, men still believe that the job of a woman is to be a house wife. Brady really emphasizes how much women used to do around the house and how it does not even add up to half of what males do, even if they do have a full time job. She mentions taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning, and having to be a therapist as well as pleasuring her husband sexually, all in one day. Luckily, this generation does not have to start the movement, but we do have to finish it. Women still do not have equal working rights because they do get payed less and there is an extraordinarily unequal balance of women CEO's vs. men CEO's. Instead of saying we want a wife, let's say we want to BE a wife.

Homecoming

I would consider myself a social teenager, and like any other social teenager, I went to my high schools homecoming dance. Now I am in no way a crazy person that goes out and parties every weekend, or ever for that matter. This homecoming I went with a guy that is a year older than me and this group of friends are really fun, but I would still not consider them the partying type. It is normal for kids these days to go to the dance and then follow up with an after party. I of course went to the after party and it was truly really fun. It was actually the most fun I have ever had at one. The problem is, is that yeah, many people "hooked up" as we call it these days. They didn't do anything major, just make out. This one girl at my after party hooked up with two guys, not too big of a deal right? One of the guys she hooked up with did the same with one other girl as well. Once again, not too big of a deal right? We're teenagers and we want to have fun. Well when I got to school on monday, I noticed that this girl that this girl was being ostracized for hooking up with two guys. People called her a slut and those that heard of it thought of her differently. The guy? Oh, well no one thought differently of him at all, it was completely fine. Why must girl be subject to such different treatment when they do the exact same thing? I do not understand it. Besides, it was not anyones business what this girl did at the after party, it is her decision and no one has the right to judge her on it. Society needs to understand that it is not okay to victimize girls when what they do is no worse than the actions of guys. This is a problem that I see everywhere. If you see this happening please stop it. And if you are the ones committing this harassment, please stop for 5 seconds and think about what you are doing, girls should not be victimized for their choices that do not harm anyone else.

Pressure is a Privilege

My mom has always told me that pressure in a privilege. Until recently, I have not understood what this really means. Ever since, well, I was born, I have been expected to do my best 24/7 no matter what it takes. It has been hard to live up to the expectations that my parents put upon me, trust me there have been many a night where I have gone to bed sobbing. But this is what makes us stronger right? It's supposed to make us more motivated, right? Well throughout this crazy experience we call high school I have observed that the pressure levels can be graphed with a parabola. With no pressure and no attention, a student will fail but with too much pressure that a student can not handle ones self, that student will yet again fail. Especially in the nationally ranked school that I go to, all we talk about and hear about is pressure. Pressure to look your best, act your best, perform the best and out of all be the best. Not everyone can be the best and those who are not naturally talented at this one skill are left far in the dust. Not only do we have pressure from our school and teachers, but fellow classmates during passing periods and lunch. All they talk about are GPA's and ACT's, the few breaks we have during the day are spend talking about what is stressing us out in the first place. THEN when we finally spent our 8 hours in school, we get to go home and, wait for it, hear about how badly we are doing in school and how many activities we need to do on top of the at least 4 hour homework load. I know for a fact that our parents did not need to go through this. I know that pressure in a privilege because without it, I would not have any expectations. At least I know someone believes that I CAN achieve greatness. All I know is that every high schooler needs time to sit back and relax once in a while, because in the long run who are you living for? Not your parents, not your friends, not your school. You're living for you.

Orange Day

According to Say No- Unite, the 25th of every month is Orange Day. This is to signify the rights that girls should have around the world. This month, we wear orange to support an equal education for every girl. Education is something most take for granted. All the time in the halls I hear kids complaining about not wanting to be in school or asking their parents to call them out of a class. What most adolescents in this nation do not realize, is that we have a privilege that more than 2/3 of the world around us does not have. The first step to solving any problem is to start small. So the next time you hear someone take their education for granted, remind them that they are privileged. Speak for those girls that can not, wear orange for support.

Malala Day 2013

I haven't written in a really long time, almost a year. I have been overly busy and I just didn't keep up with the blog! But I was just thinking of Malala, the reason why I started this page, and it reminded me of an amazing opportunity I had this summer, to see her. Malala spoke at the United Nations in July, her first speech after her terrible attack. I was blessed with the opportunity to sit in that general assembly and listen to her amazingly inspirational speech. That weekend was legitimately a life changing event. I not only saw her, but I met the former prime minister, Gordon Brown. I would not have changed this experience for anything. Although it was more than 2 months ago I am still in shock. Malala is such an inspiration, I am truly thankful that I had this phenomenal experience. A BIG thanks to Girl Scouts for getting me there, without the support from them this would have never happened. This is a picture of Gordon Brown and I, one of my favorites :)