As a young woman, I am constantly put in situations where my patience is tested. Many times, I’m stuck feeling competent and mature, while other people make me feel like my youth defines my ability (or rather my inability) to make decisions. Obviously, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I may be young, but I know what I want and deserve and I won’t settle for anything less.
- I’ve lived with myself for long enough to know who I am. Sure, I may have only been alive 20 years, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t experienced life. There’s a lot of anger, sadness and disappointment in the world and I’ve learned that you can either let it affect you or you use it to light a fire in your soul. Being young in this day and age means I’m constantly subject to stereotypes and expectations that box me in as a growing woman. However, I’m too eager to make a difference in the world to let those boxes confine me.
- My youth makes me ambitious and eager to take on the world. I don’t know if it’s just my generation, but as a millennial, I feel a lot of anger at the state of the world. Instead of that anger being used as destructive ammunition, I want to direct it towards positive change. As a member of the younger generation, I feel obligated to act on my aspiration to challenge the status quo.
- My life experiences have primed me to tackle any situation I encounter. A person can experience a lot in a year, and although I’m barely past my teens, I feel capable of managing my life and maintaining a healthy balance between school, work and my social life. Wisdom is gained through experience, and many times I find myself referring to past situations in order to decipher what move to make next.
- I’ve seen how the generation above me lives. And I like what I see. I want to be able to work a steady job that I actually enjoy while living with my significant other in a home that we purchased with our own hard-earned money.
- I have learned from other people’s mistakes (and my own). You live and you learn. Eventually, I start revising my courses of action because I realize the consequences just aren’t worth the hassle. When my girlfriends and I talk, I genuinely care about how they’re doing because our lives are very similar. It’s better to be proactive instead of reactive, especially when you’re a young adult.
- I have people to look up to that are older and wiser. They are my biggest role models, and without them I would have no direction or purpose. When I see my parents working and enjoying their lives, it reminds me that the endless shifts and homework are worth it in the end.
- Society’s misconceptions about women motivate me to be the opposite. Young women especially are looked down upon as flighty, indecisive and possibly reckless, but the reality is that many of us are completely sane and way more intelligent than the media makes us out to be.
- I know what hard work is. And I’ve learned that your work is never done in the quest to prove yourself to your peers. Females are seen as amateurish and slow at climbing the ladder, but many of us are far more skillful and tenacious than people make us out to be. All of us have goals that we set for ourselves. As a young woman, I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my happiness and overall quality of life.
