It seems that no matter what we do, there is always a lingering social standard for women to uphold. We must be smart, but not too smart. Fun, but not too fun. Tough, but not too opinionated. The ridiculously out of touch social standards our society puts on women strains a woman's self confidence, identity, and feeling of self worth and value. These social standards seem to be in place simply to keep young women and girls striving for the impossible. These standards tell women that there is a certain way to dress, act, speak, and carry themselves in order to be pleasing to society. Our worth is too often tied to the opinion of men, as we are often told to act a certain way in order to attract them. Too often girls are pressured to fit a certain mold of what a women is by standards created by straight white males in charge of our society.

A woman's worth is not tied to that of a man. We do not sit around waiting for the perfect guy to finally notice how we styled our hair just right and say all the right things a girl should say. Yet so many girls, including myself, too often fall into the trap of trying to fit a mold we're constantly having shoved down our throats. And to be quite honest these standards are completely arbitrary. Being the "perfect woman" does not logistically make our lives better. Being the girl you see on TV and in magazines won't make you a better person. Acting and speaking in a way a guy thinks you should speak does not benefit you. The struggle that so many woman face today is that, no matter how much we know these unrealistic standards do not benefit us, they are still extremely real and present in our lives. We see them as we watch TV. As we read a magazine. As we walk down the street. We hear about it on the radio and from people around us. There is constantly this social standard looming over us in the clouds-something that can't be seen but that we all know is there.

The standards that we constantly face from media, family, friends, and strangers all contribute to a diminished sense of self that stops many young women from truly being themselves in society. Although it may sound cliche, in the end we only have one self. The best thing anyone can do is to live their lives completely and utterly for themselves. Young girls deserve to understand this and live freely without having to worry about the expectations and restrictions society has put on them.