Join the Nice Girl Gang
Women. Women empowerment. Women in the workplace. Women in leadership. Women supporting other women.
I feel that I have always had a really hard time with this because of a few negative experiences in my life. Growing up I lived in California, in a smaller town, in comparison to the massiveness of Phoenix. I had issues with girls not being very nice to me in 5th and 6th grade. This really stuck with me for a long time throughout my teen years. I remember going home crying every single day because of the things that they would say to me. At this point I am not sure why it all happened or all the details but I remember that it wasn’t fun and it impacted me in a way that shaped part of who I am today. I would sit in the bathrooms at school during lunch crying waiting for the time to go by faster. The faster ‘social’ hours went the faster I could get in the classroom and be safe or go home. It got so bad that part of the reason my parents decided to finally make the move from California to Arizona was because of the things I was going through on a daily basis.
Now, as an adult and mother of a daughter, I teach Eliana to be kind to others. To always be friends with everyone no matter what they look like, how they act, or who likes them. Every single night before bed I tell her, “I love you. Have a good day at school tomorrow and remember to be kind to friends and make smart choice.”
Every single night.
It’s our routine.
Earlier this week I realized that the things I have been teaching her for 7 ½ years was really working. I dropped her back off at school after a dentist appointment and when she started walking back to her classroom one of the office ladies came out to talk to me. She heard Eliana and I coming back and wanted to make sure she shared a story with me. At first I was little nervous when she said, “I just had to share what Eliana did the other day.” My biggest fear is that she is NOT kind to friends, but boy was I wrong. There was a new little girl that had just started at her school the day before. The woman overheard this interaction with Eliana and the new girl as she was giving her and her mom a tour of the school. Eliana went running up to the new girl with her hand straight out to introduce herself and said, “Hi, my name is Eliana, are you new?”
If you know Eliana she has no concept of personal space, how loud she is being or how overwhelming her enthusiasm can be.
So the little girl shyly looked up at her mom for reassurance on responding and hesitantly said, “Yes.”
Eliana, with her voice full of excitement and comforting said, “I know you are in Ms. Fishers class and so am I. Ms. Fisher is so nice and I know you are going to love it here. If you ever need anything or don’t know where something is just let me know and I will show you. We can be friends.”
After this interaction Eliana skipped off to her classroom as the family finished their tour. The mom in utter shock asked the office lady, “Are all the kids this nice here?” to which she responded with a smile and said, “No.”
When I was told this story I wanted to cry. This is exactly the type of child I want to raise. One that is kind to everyone. As a woman, and as a mother raising a daughter, it is so important to reinforce to her that we need to encourage other woman. I see it every single day. Woman who talk down to each other for being more successful, prettier, having more money, having ‘better’ behaved kids or a bigger house. This is so ridiculous. We look at each other, and especially with social media these days, and compare ourselves to each other. But, that is the beauty of being an individual, we are all different. There will always be someone else that might be ‘better’ than you at something, but that’s okay. That’s why we need to start learning from each other.
As a young woman who is not only in leadership but also in a male dominated technology industry, I am very lucky to have found a company that encourages and empowers women in leadership and in tech. I have been able to find fellow women within my company to be my mentors. Females that have been able to pave the way for woman like me to be able to succeed. They never wanted to keep their success story a secret. They wanted to share their story in order for me, and many other women, to succeed just as much as them and even far beyond their own success.
Instead of looking at each other with envy why can’t we all come together and learn from each other. Through social media and work I have been able to meet some amazingly powerful and strong woman. Married. Single. Mothers. Travelers. Business owners and leaders. All types of women who all have something to teach me and you. I don’t ever want anyone to be jealous of another. I want you to feel empowered enough to reach out to each other for advice, help and guidance on life questions. Let’s empower each other to succeed in their goals.
** A company that has been the epitome of being a nice girl and woman empowerment that I have adored is Little Words Project. I am doing a giveaway of one of their bracelets that encourages the “Nice Girl Gang” and everything that I believe in. Go check out my Instagram @twoplus3 for more details.
Originally published at Two Plus 3.
