I have my struggles as a child, like most of my peers do. When I was about 7 years old I continued to get into trouble at home with my mom. At age 9 I had to move to Atlanta GA, to live with my Nana and my dad.
My Nana who is a retired Counselor, put me into therapy and that changed my life. In therapy I learned to know my voice and I slowly began to claim it. With my Nana and the help of therapy, I now have a safe place to explore my thoughts and practice using my voice. I have worked through some of my issues and gaining confidence and clarity.
In my experiences, I have come to learn why some young girls are being held back, for instance, low self-esteem in which I had issues with. As is so often the case in life with our peers. Also, I am learning when we go through painful situations we can come out on the other side with more confidence and empowerment than we ever imagined we could have.
Moreover, the direction of my life has become more clear, and as a young Christian girl that I am trying so hard to be. I greet each day with the challenge of balancing my life and with a hope of helping to empower other young girls a long the way, in which this is why I have helped to form this club. Also, my major goals are to use my experiences and resources to empower other young girls to stand strong and be successful in life. I am very passionate about motivating young girls to learn and develop the emotional and social skills they need to succeed in all aspects of their lives, and navigate the “drama of girls world” during our formative pre-teen and teenage years. I, like many of us, want to create a new, healthier model of young girls and I need your help! That is, I need you to come join in with me to make this dream come true.
We all have our own abilities and intelligence to rely on. Also, our intelligence is more than book knowledge. It is also our emotional intelligence. My Nana define emotional intelligence as the ability to know and understand your emotions and communicate your needs/desires in a clear, respectful and direct manner."
My Nana says, “it is a wonderful time to be young! No matter what you have experienced in your life thus far, it’s never too late to awaken to the possibilities inherent within your potential.” We don’t have to wait to claim our validity as young girls and not even when we become women. We don’t have to wait until we get our degree or anything else which might be holding us back!
Perhaps you have felt that your own voice has been stifled at times. Begin by giving yourself permission to let your voice come forth within this club and with a lot of fun and activities along the way. Take a risk. Step up. Be daring, you can do it!
It is very rewarding to hear yourself express your opinions, thoughts, and ideas without the concern of repercussion or judgment. Within this club I want to let your authenticity shine! The thought that I would like to leave with each of you is that you have so much potential, talent, uniqueness to share with your peers or your family, friends and the world. So, Let your authenticity shine!
From the desk of the President Angel DaShay Harriel