2016 was a loss for girls. Okay, maybe not all the girls, but this year I took quite a few losses in feminine power department. Yeah Hillary lost and we have a president elect that is an anti-woman piece of shiii- (just kidding). Women are hopeful for the future. We have to be. We must be motivated as individuals to continually understand our worth even when it seems like we're walking against the wind, uphill, and backwards.

Here are a few things American girls and women should work towards in 2017:

1. A Continual Sense of Worth.

Yes even the guys should feel this too, but this is a historic struggle for women. I like to refer to Sylvia Plath when those all too familiar feelings of incompetence wander into my head.

"I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am. I am. I am."

2. Confidence in her independence

Yeah, all those poems and songs about falling in love warm the heart (starts singing "Enchanted" by Taylor Swift) BUT its okay to not have anyone to send heart emojis to. Actually, it's not just okay, it is better than okay.

Find the you that lives on your own girl.

3. An Outlet for Creativity

You don't have to be the creative type to find a way to express yourself. Whether it's for yourself or to put out into the world, do something with your mind. Find a way to come up with something new.

The world is at the point where the genius of girls needs to be seen, heard, read, and experienced. We didn't get our president, but, girls, we still have our chance for our voices to be heard.

4. A Big Sister

I am the oldest of four, but I have at least 3 people in my head that have given me the support, advice, and made fun of me enough to be like an older sister. They have helped me, maybe even saved me when it came to fashion advice, boys, and my anxiety.

Helping each other and providing empathy seems like a simplistic, almost obvious piece of advice, but it's important, relevant, and deserves to be said again.

5. An Education

Learn stuff, not because school is making you or your parents want you to, but get educated because smart people (usually) run the world. Learn about the world. History. Feminism. People like you, people not like you. Who they are, who they want to be. Learn about business and the economy. Learn how to do stuff.

Education is power and not being educated is taking away the already limited power that women have in the world today.

SO... ladies, you might also need thicker eyebrows, a new Adele album, or a FRIENDS reunion, but, more importantly, you need to be a little fiercer, a little stronger, and a little smarter.

Now more than ever.