I’ve always loved being a girl. I love it for a hundred different reasons, and I could write endless pages on each reason alone. Instead of boring you, however, with my love for dance, red lipstick, and anything that glitters, I’m going to focus on one reason that really matters to me.
As girls, we are told to act a certain way and be interested in certain things. More than this, as people, we are told to stay within certain boundaries and not push too many limits. We are told to stay inside the lines. While most of us do just that, there are incredible people and incredible women who cross those boundaries and push those limits every day.
The main reason I love being a girl is because it means looking up to and identifying with those incredible women that stun society every day. For every man that is successful in whatever he does, there is a successful woman doing the same thing who probably had to work twice as hard to get there, and there are three women in particular that exemplify just that.
1. Mayim Bialik.
For those of you who love "The Big Bang Theory" as much as I do, you recognize Mayim Bialik as the brilliant and socially awkward neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler, who is dating Sheldon Cooper. (For those of you that don’t watch "The Big Bang Theory," you’re missing out on some great comedy.) Mayim Bialik is not so different from the character she plays. She is the perfect role model for girls who want it all.
As a mother of two and a great actress, it’s almost hard to believe that is also a neuroscientist with a bachelor's and Ph.D. from UCLA. She discovered two areas that she loves, neuroscience and acting, and mastered them both. As if that wasn’t enough, she then went on to start a family. Bialik is a role model who reminds us every day that if there is something we love, we must go after it.
2. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet.
This woman is more than a 5-foot-2, 125-pound Crossfit athlete who conquered the 2014 games becoming the Fittest Woman on Earth. Leblanc-Bazinet is proof that strong is beautiful, hard work pays off, and women can play in the big leagues with the boys. She says, “I was good at school and good at sports, and it felt like I had to be a little bit dumber with guys so I would be accepted. But then I thought, no, I’m going to be as nerdy as I want and I’m still going to kick your butt in the gym.” And that is just what she did. With a chemical engineering degree and a love for fitness, she is proof that girls can excel in science and the gym. She is a true story of passion, determination and success. More than that, she shows us that strong is not manly, but beautiful. She is the first to admit that looking good does not have to mean being skinny and unhealthy. She is reshaping the ideal female image into one that is based on being healthy and happy with how you look, feel and perform.
3. Christina Yang.
"Grey’s Anatomy" surgeon Cristina Yang may be my favorite fictional character to ever be on television. You are probably thinking, “She’s not even a real person, and you are right. However, I still consider Yang a role model because she embodies so many characteristics that young girls need to see. She is fearless, smart, beautiful, and funny. Yang has pride, something a lot of girls shy away from in fear of seeming arrogant.
She sticks to her guns and nothing drives her but her passion and love for medicine and helping others. Because of this and her hard work, she is a brilliant surgeon who outranks almost every other doctor on the show, male or female. She is funny, charismatic, a good friend, and is not afraid to fall in love. Women often think they have to choose between love, a social life, and having a successful career, but Yang is a reminder that we too can have it all.
If nothing else, I hope these women showed that you can be it all. Live by the words of Cristina Yang, "Have some fire. Be unstoppable. Be a force of nature." If you love something, you must go after it with everything you have, and then some.
Mayim, Camille, and Cristina all started somewhere, and you never know if you will be the next actress-neuroscientist, Fittest Woman on Earth, or brilliant surgeon. Like they did, you must follow your passions and let nothing get in your way.
