We need to eliminate "like a girl" from our vocabulary unless we are using it to promote that girls are strong individuals capable of anything. I don’t know how it began, I don’t know why it still exists, but I do know that there is an idea out there that girls are supposed to wear pink, not get dirty, and let the man save them. But why does that have to be what a girl is? Why is the word “girl” synonymous with “less than”?

News flash: Girls are not weak.

Girls do not need to be rescued. Girls are not passive, submissive and shy. We are not just teachers, nurses, and secretaries. Not all girls dream of having a family one day and staying home to take care of them. We do not all know or want to know how to cook. Not all girls want to be the cheerleader on the sidelines, but rather would be the football player scoring the touchdown. When is the last time you told a girl that they were smart, strong, fearless, fast, or kind, instead of pretty, sexy, beautiful?

Not all girls want to be the princess of the story. They want to be the warrior.

Girls are strong. They have a voice. Girls can save themselves. Girls are unstoppable; they are the hero of their own story. Some girls dream of growing up and being a Marine. Some girls do want to grow up and be a teacher- but not because it’s easy or because they get summers off to take care of their children. Some dream of being a teacher so they can educate the future and make a difference in the world. Girls can be astronauts, computer programmers, lawyers, police officers, the president of the United States of America and so much more.

If you haven’t seen Always #LikeAGirl campaign and you’re a mother, father, teacher, young woman, girl, human being, you need to. It opened my eyes to the stigma that is being placed on girls. Young girls are born with fire in their veins, believing they are strong and brave. But once they hear the annoying term “like a girl,” it makes them stop and think “what does 'like a girl' even mean?” When they learn that “like a girl” is a term associated with being weak or less than, it breaks their heart and ruins their self-confidence. These once-strong young girls now view themselves as less because of their gender.

In the #LikeAGirl campaign video, they asked what does “like a girl,” look like when running, throwing, and fighting to two different audiences. The first audience consisted of older girls, a young boy and an older man. They each viewed “like a girl” when running, throwing, and fighting as something silly and “girly.” But when they asked the other audience, a group of younger girls, they viewed “like a girl” as something entirely different. Each young girl showed “like a girl” as being strong, fast, fearless, and not less than. One young girl when asked if she thought "like a girl is a good thing” responded with that she didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing. She said that it sounds like a bad thing like you’re trying to humiliate someone. When did we allow “like a girl” to be such a negative and humiliating thing?

As a young woman, I know I am strong and can do anything I set my mind to. I was raised by strong women who showed me that yes, I am girl but I am not defined by my gender. I am defined by my strengths, my abilities, my personality. But when I think of younger girls who are still trying to figure out who they are, it breaks my heart that they would even question that they are less than because they are a girl. We should be raising these girls to notice that the only difference between a girl and a boy is their gender. We shouldn’t let these beautiful and strong young girls to think that just because they are a girl means that they are fragile.

Girls are not limited because of their gender. Girls are actually limitless because of their gender. For young girls, young women, and women in general, you are not defined by the limitations the world places you in. You are all resilient, all valiant, all unstoppable. Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot do something because you are a girl. Do not let society define your abilities. You are intelligent, beautiful, and worthy. You are a girl, you are a woman, you are altogether unique. As the great Beyoncè once said, "We have to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves."

When I have my own children one day, whether it be a boy or a girl, I will teach them that your gender does not define your abilities. Your gender does not set your limits. I stand with Always' campaign of helping young girls be confident and realize their worth. Do you?

Link to Always #LikeAGirl campaign video, please watch.