by Chelsea Davies
I don’t know about you, but I love being a girl! It’s not always easy, especially with the different challenges you have to face, but I think it’s pretty special even though it sometimes doesn’t seem that way. More and more I feel for you girls as the pressure to fit in, to look a certain way, even to get a minimum number of likes on your newest Instagram photo, has never
been greater!
Most people would still say I’m young (I’m nearly 28), but when I compare my first phone at the age
of 11 – the mighty “Nokia 3310” with the newest iPhone 11, it’s obvious that even though still young, a lot has changed from when I was a young girl. I sometimes wish that you girls could experience some of the carefree times I had in my childhood. Life outside of school mostly consisted of making dens, having weekly sleepovers with facemasks, Spice Girls, and deciding when to wear my favourite bright orange poppers outfit (true story). Imagine that on Instagram now!! But hey, the world’s changed and it’s hard to see it going back to how it was, so we need to do our bit a girls to prepare ourselves to succeed in the world as it is today.
As I said at the start, it’s not always easy being a girl, but one of the great things about being a girl in 2019 is that we do have more opportunities now, because of the incredible women that have gone before us. We don’t have to be held back because of the world we find ourselves in, and we can build the future we want to see.
Did you know… in the 1920’s women fought for the right to vote; in 1968 women gained the right to
have equal access to job listings; in 1970 women fought for the right to be paid the same as men for the same work; and in 2013, women were finally granted the right to fight on the front line in the army. In just 100 years, women fought for and changed all of these things, for me and for you. But you only have to read Lawrie’s article on pages 4-7 to know there’s still a very long way to go!
Have you ever been told you couldn’t do something because you’re a girl? Or that you’re not as good because you’re a girl? Well, these kind of comments, from boys in particular, never sat well with me, and if I ever heard this kind of remark in the school yard or PE lessons whilst choosing teams, I’d feel myself starting to boil. But I soon realised that having something to say in those moments didn’t always work out well for me (I was probably too emotional!!) so I changed tack, and decided to let my life speak louder than my words. I wanted to use this article to encourage you to do the same. You don’t always have to make a loud noise with your words, because your actions will speak so much louder than anything you say. People of action do the impossible you know?! I read a quote recently after Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to break the 2-hour marathon
barrier. So many thought it was impossible, but Nelson Mandela had a great outlook on impossible that I really like… “It always seems impossible until it’s done!”
Girls, what do you want to do in your life that feels impossible? What are you dreaming about that looks impossible? Don’t be held back by the world around you… go for it! We’re girls, we can do anything!!
Sometimes though, we take the negative comments or the “she’s just a girl” comment to heart, and
it dampens our excitement and kills our focus. That’s when it becomes important for us girls to have each other’s backs. And in a world that often pits girls against one another, whether it be over boys or other things, this is more important than ever!
All of us at Rhondda Netball are committed to empowering today’s generation of girls and women, and I couldn’t be more thankful that that, includes YOU!!!
