Rachel Martin- Journalist
Advice:
I suppose my biggest piece of advice that I would give to young girls is to dare to be bold. That means a lot of different things. I’d like to talk about three of them.
First of all, it can be really hard to be a teenager and a teenage girl in particular. I remember feeling all the time that people were constantly judging me or trying to put me in one box or another and it felt overwhelming. Being bold is about not being afraid to just be yourself and learning to ignore people who send negative comments or negative energy your way. You don’t need them. Surround yourself with positive people who believe in you. Being bold is about learning how to shake off the bad stuff without letting it get you down.
Secondly, being bold is about speaking up. I don’t just mean speaking up in class (which I think girls should do more often). I mean, speaking up when you see that someone is being treated unfairly. Use your voice to stand up for other people who are having a hard time. You can set an example for others by being the person who says something, who does something when the easy thing is to walk away.
Lastly, being bold means dreaming big. You probably hear all the time that ‘you can be anything you want to be.’ But here’s the thing – you really CAN! The key is not just to dream boldly but to try to make your dream happen. Don’t let anyone tell you, “Oh that’s a great dream/goal to have but it’s kind of unrealistic, don’t you think?” No way. It takes hard work, determination and focus but I really believe that you can achieve anything you can imagine. Don’t limit yourself.
BE BOLD.