Dear Society,

I have been reflecting a lot on adulthood, since I am 19 years old and I try to be an optimistic young girl. I am wondering if I will be able to handle the amount of pressure put on a woman in American culture. At an early age, girls have learned to be sweet, caring, and quiet. Girls try their best to focus on an education, but we’re singled out because our bra straps are showing in class, and it is seen as a “distraction” to our male classmates. We have now learned to be self-conscious about how we look because of a school system that sees us as “distractions,” instead of as students. Girls will learn to see themselves as the weak, foolish, and sensitive gender.

Growing up further, I have learned that the fields of education, psychology, and nursing are the best possible careers for a woman. Girls will all eventually learn that as young women, we have a harder time finding jobs, since we will be discriminated against because of the “chances” of getting pregnant. Also, once we decide to become pregnant, the company that we work for is not required to pay us for maternity leave, since the U.S. is the last developed country to not have mandatory paid family leave. This is stated in the Family and Medical Leave Act, which currently is the only federal leave protection available to American workers who have children, and does not require that an employer pay a new mother for a single day of leave; it merely protects her job for 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

I am well aware of the pink tax and the extra $1,351 a year I will have to pay because I am a girl. The pink tax is higher on feminine products that girls MUST use for a major monthly personal hygiene expense. On top of having to pay for the tax and the unpaid maternity leave, we have to be understanding of the impending “Glass Ceiling.” We will earn less than our opposite sex coworkers, because we are women. Young girls will be one of the five woman sexually assaulted in the U.S., and will experience constant sexual harassment at work. We are programmed to understand that “boys will just be boys,” and we will have a lack of acknowledgement for abusive relationships.

As I reflect upon all these “normal” life experiences for a girl, I am sorry to society, but I am going to have to reject them. I may be a girl, but I am also very intelligent, and extremely well put-together. Society would not recognize these characteristics I possess, because they are categorized as “manly.”

I will reject every single one of your judgments and use it as fuel to mold myself into what I see as the “perfect” woman of today. I will be feminine, intelligent, strong, and relentless. I will work in the male-dominated corporate America, and succeed. I will vote for a Congress Member and Senate Representative that will represent more than 50 percent of the female population. I will reject everything society has put into place and become my own person. I will love every challenge and controversy I will create and overcome. I will relish in the amount of achievements I accomplish simply by believing in myself and not constantly doubting. No one will be able to tell me 'no' or 'slow down,' because I am a product of a fast changing society. I will hire someone regardless of sex, race, gender, or sexual preference, because I will not judge someone by his or her appearance, but by his or her character.

I have learned that young girls like me are on a mission to mold society and be the voices of reason. Society will learn to change and learn a new way of thinking. I will become a mother, philosopher, mogul, role model, and businesswoman. The woman of today will reshape high school textbooks and create jobs for both of the sexes. Woman will become physicists, engineers, professors, and business tycoons, while going home to their children at the end of the day.

Girls should not be scared or discouraged to pick up a physics or business textbook. You are smart, caring, and gentle, but you are also fierce, dynamic, and intelligent. As I grow older and have kids of my own, I will teach them the “Glass Ceiling” before “Glass Slippers.” I am glad society did not mold me into something I am not. Girls should not be discouraged to go into nursing, psychology, or education, but they should not limit themselves to the hierarchies of their fields. It’s okay to be a nurse, and it's okay to be the owner of a hospital. Choose whatever path you wish to walk down, but remember, you are not those stereotypes we grew up in. You are your own person; so for every girl out there, show us what you can do!