So you've decided on your career path. You felt absolutely sure of yourself, proud, and oh so happy. But that's when people started to whisper those little doubts into your mind.

Don't you think it'll be hard to get into that position as a woman?

I hope you have a backup plan, because that's not usually a job for girls.

Wow that's really ambitious... lol good luck.

The list goes on, really. And you do your best not to listen, but after a while all of those remarks and banter start chipping away at your confidence. You start wondering if you can really achieve your goals. You wonder if you should just take a job that fits your social roles a little better. Maybe you should climb the ladder until you hit that coveted male position and then settle for that.

As someone who has been there, I want you to stop in your tracks. Do not let outsiders who have no idea what value and ideas you bring to the table knock you down. Do not be shaken by those who have never clawed their way out of the situations that you have. Remember why you chose that path in the first place. All you need is a fire inside of you to get there; it doesn't matter if the bystanders think you can run the race or not. It matters what you see in yourself.

Will it be hard some days? Of course. When they say life isn't fair, they're right. Some things might not go your way, some people might doubt your abilities. That's where you just gotta grind it out and prove yourself. This is the 21st century; women aren't expected to be housewives and wear aprons and never go to work. So why does a woman get looked at sideways when she says she wants to be a firefighter, or a football coach, or a principal, or a CEO? It doesn't take a feminist to understand that a successful woman is much better to hire than a mediocre man, simply for his gender.

So if you've got people in your ear telling you that you don't belong in the field, tune them out. Its easier said than done, I know, but if you focus on proving yourself to yourself, it'll be that much easier to prove them wrong.

So fellow ambitious females, go forth and be firefighters, athletic directors, CEOs, stockbrokers, record label producers, principals or whatever else you want to be. When your parents said you could be anything when you "grew up," they weren't lying to you.