Sunday, May 23, 2010

Girl Power!

Yesterday I had the privilege of leading a workshop called Girl Power! for young ladies ages 10-15 in the Fairfax County area. Girl Power was instituted to give girls a positive and encouraging environment where they could learn healthy life choices and empowerment. It's main philosophy is to give girls resiliency and strength to say no to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Their pledge (which is so cute to hear) is:

"I am a girl with responsibilities, strength, and power. I am a girl who can be anything I want to be. I am a girl with the knowledge and courage to stand up for what I believe in. I am a girl with respect for myself and others. I have Girl Power!"
Here, one of the schools is singing "We are Family"
And they also did this dance... really cute
So, anyway, I was recruited to teach a workshop called Let's Move! for the girls. It was a blast but definitely exhausting. Like my home-designed logo?
We went over the basics like what they should be doing everyday to stay healthy like aerobic, muscle and bone strengthening exercises. I explained to them that you don't have to be an athlete to exercise, and there are ways other than deprivation to get in shape. Then, I got them up and did 5 fitness stations and made them sing the entire time so they would get out of breath. They had wayyy more fun than I thought they would, so that was a good experience.

They were SO excited to meet Miss Teen Virginia. Lame. I mean she isn't lame, but I think it's cooler to promote things other than pageantry to little girls. They see this beauty and then they all want to be her and they say things like "how does she stay so skinny?!?" and she says things like "In pageants, you have to be skinny, so some girls make themselves sick! You need a tiny waist! I, however, am blessed with a great metabolism!" 

Really, chick? So, when they come to my workshop they're all hyped up on being skinny and it's my job to stress healthy over skinny and that it's more important to be in shape for health reasons than just look good. I guess it's not about what I think though... 

Anyway, enough of my rant. Basically, the message is eat well, get moving, have fun and be healthy. I think many people (not just little girls) would have benefitted from yesterday, so if you want some non-expert and doable advice, I'm all yours.

Til then, ciao.

16 comments:

Truffle Shuffle said...

That is wonderful. I am glad you were able to make a difference in your community. It is important for girls (and everyone, for that matter) to be able to feel that they have purpose and direction in life. I hope they felt empowered after your visit. =-)
Keep it up. Girl power!

The Ardent Epicure

Monet said...

Amazing work. As a student of Women and Gender Studies, I'm so encouraged by what you were able to do this weekend. We need more people like you going out into our communities and helping girls find their purpose (which shouldn't concern how they look or how skinny they are. Thank you!

Gabriel said...

Wow impressive! That's Girl Power. You have just made an amazing work. Keep it up coz you can do more to help and encourage others.

Megan said...

I just want to say That's Girl Power. You have just made an amazing work. Keep it up coz you can do more to help and encourage others.wish you all the best.

kara said...

Wow! its wonderful thats something which i really like. Thanks for posting such fabulous stuff.

Samantha said...

I am glad you were able to make a difference in your community. It is important for girls (and everyone, for that matter) to be able to feel that they have purpose and direction in life. thanx.

Michelle said...

I just want to say that I really like, Thanks for posting such fabulous stuff. keep it up.

Kristen said...

I am glad you were able to make a difference in your community. It is important for girls (and everyone, for that matter) to be able to feel that they have purpose and direction in life. thanx for posting.

Victoria said...

Keep it up coz you can do more to help and encourage others, wish you all the best, thanx for sharing.

Diane said...

Interesting Article! I really enjoyed reading your article. Thanks for the share.

Lynn said...

Actually i read this information and it gave me a wonderful idea.Thank you for posting this.

Katie said...

I enjoyed reading your post. Thanks for a wonderful article. Great post.

Jillian said...

Nice go girl, make us difference we can make what the boys can make go girl power keep it up..

jean said...

Wonderful Post! It was pleasure reading your post! Go Girls! Nice sharing!!

Christy said...

Thanx for sharing, keep posting, love your blog, keep it up.

Jennifer said...

Wow, i think You have just made an amazing work. Keep it up coz you can do more to help and encourage others, keep it up.