As we went into the first activity for the fourth session of Redefining Beauty, I was a little unsure how it would go. In the activity, the girls were given sticky labels to write positive words that described themselves. For some reason, the objective of the activity did not click in my head. I was unsure of what to put on my label, so I just went with the Girls Inc. motto – I am Strong, Smart, and Bold! As I explained the activity to the girls, my co-facilitator and I threw out some examples of words the girls could use. I referenced previous activities where the girls talked about hobbies or sports they did and tried to use those ideas as starting points to helping them make their labels.

Pretty soon the classroom started to get loud. Girls were walking around, looking at each other’s labels, and suggesting things for other girls in the room to write down. Some of the girls were so excited about their labels, they started coming up to me, telling me what they wrote. I was so excited to hear, but I asked them to wait to share with everyone. When it was time, almost every girl wanted to share. As I heard words like creative, bold, brave, smart, intelligent, funny, unique and confident, I was so impressed. Each girl read with such attitude! She was “owning” the words on the label – believing what she had written was true.

With every positive word spoken, a negative word, image or idea was being kicked to the curb. It’s almost as if the moment they read the words and put the label on, a protective shield of confidence went up around then, and any negative thing that tried to penetrate just fell to the ground.

Then I got it, the point of the activity. By writing and saying it, we can believe it. We can own our positives. We can be confident in who we are.

I am strong, intelligent, funny, creative, courageous, and passionate about empowering young girls.
Who are you? Can you say it with confidence and attitude?