Dear young woman (and parents/mentors/teachers/siblings of young ladies,)

Today is International Day of the Girl. Young ladies, wherever you are, know that we the women of the world support you. We are rooting for you. We will pull you up alongside us and propel you even farther forward. Whatever battle you are fighting today, inside or out, know that it will pass. That the fight is worth it. That life will show you gifts you can’t even imagine. Don’t give up. We are just now standing in our power. We’re ready and waiting for you. You got this, girl.

That’s me in the center there, with the bowl cut and bottled water. That is my beautiful mother on the left and my recently passed grandmother on the right. Strong XX chromosomes in the genes :).

I was a tomboy. I played all the sports, splashed in all the creeks and took all the walks down dark, scary paths. I had a bowl cut. I had a basketball hoop. I wore oversized cotton T-shirts. I remember one in particular, my favorite it at age 10, that was from Big Dogs. It read:

“It’s all fun and games until some girl kicks your butt.”

It doesn’t matter if you are ignited by the feminist rally cries or not. It doesn’t matter if you find your flow on stage or in class or quietly reading in your bedroom at night. What matters is that you find it. You must find your fire. Fuel it. Learn to control it. Let it burn wildly to feel your force and quell the flames with your tender humility.

I distinctly remember a solid 18 months of walking the societal tightrope between male and female. When substitute teachers referred to me as a pronoun, it was often “he.” I’d proudly inform them I’m a she. I knew they thought this because I was tall, muscular and had the same mushroom haircut that every young boy is inevitably subjected to. I appreciated the gender confusion because it meant that I was presenting myself equally, or at least comparably, to a man. That I was both as confident and as physically capable as my male peers. This androgynous period didn’t last long, as puberty lay just around the the corner. Anatomically, I would soon fit in their boxes.

Puberty is pretty f***ed up. It’s when the stereotypes that were easy to ignore playing with friends in the park infiltrate aspects of your life beyond the mall. People will have expectations about what you should wear, shave, eat and do all the time. There is a lot of pressure on you, right now, I know. Unfortunately it doesn’t get a whole lot easier, but it becomes easier to care about the right things.

The most important thing you can do right now is Be You. Exactly who you are. You are awesome. You attempting to be anything less than your genuine self is precisely that, less awesome. Authenticity will last much longer than popularity. Don’t stress about what clique you eat lunch with. Nurture the hobbies that make you happy. Music skills last a long longer than competitive sports will. Art and writing will always heal you more than mindless tv appears to. Develop relationships not just social audiences. Cultivating a confidence in yourself now will continue to comfort the woman you are becoming. Remember to see the bigger picture. The devil is in the details. Don’t let him win. Be a survivor, not a victim. This, and everything, too shall pass. You will only remember the love, the laughs and the loss you experience now. Nothing else will matter. I promise.

People told me a lot of things growing up. They made fun of me when I looked like a boy, and then when I embraced my femininity. I was perpetually a “nerd” because I skipped 3rd grade and am addicted to reading. Executives assumed I was an assistant or office manager in meetings for the first few years of my career in technology. I’ve been sexually harassed, heckled, targeted, underestimated and doubted. I’ve fought odds far darker than we’ll dig into today. None of that is on my resume. In fact, much of what makes you, You, won’t make it on paper. Most people in your future won’t know your story or anything about what you’ve overcome. Except for you. And for me. And every other woman, and girl, who’s making something of herself around the world. We know. It is the glimmer in our eye. It is the smirk as we take the stage. It is the fire in our soul.

You go, girl. Celebrate yourself today. You earned it. And tomorrow, you wake up and you do yourself and your girls proud.

Admittedly Beyonce looks a little better saying it than I did in my Big Dogs T, but the message remains the same. Let the others laugh and doubt all they want. They know nothing about the fire inside. We are woke and we are rising. We already run the world. We’re just waiting for you.

Sincerely,

The Women of the World

If you enjoyed this piece, I appreciate your applause, and your share with young girl or someone with young girls who may benefit from also reading. You can find out more about Savannah Peterson on her website.