My name is Karla Wheelock and I’m a Mexican mountain climber. When I think about what it means to lead from the heart and be authentic in my leadership, I think of the heart as the compass that guides us to where we need to go. When it beats...
Stories
Every woman and every girl inspires us. We are deeply grateful to those who have shared their stories about breakthroughs in their lives, the ways in which they have overcome fears, beliefs, or events that once kept them from connecting with their inner strength and recognizing their amazingness. Some of these stories are stories of pain and how a women or girl triumphed over it. As you read these stories, rather than focusing on the pain, choose to focus instead on the triumph and the ways that others have overcome what may once have seemed impossible to overcome. Let's celebrate their triumphs!
La vita è sempre sorprendente e anche se sai che è così, si rimane sempre sbalorditi dal flusso degli avvenimenti. Ad un certo punto della mia vita, come molte altre donne, ho incontrato un cancro al seno: ero giovane avevo 36 anni, non...
A few days ago, I was asked again a question I receive quite often, “How did you grow up so differently from the ghettos where you were raised?” My answer has always been simple, the Missy Bell kind: “I am destined for greatness; this...
Three years ago, my skin broke with, in my eyes, severe adult acne. I was devastated to say the least. My self-esteem and self confidence entirely depleted as everyday I looked in the mirror and saw an ugly face. My skin was sore, it was full...
Don’t ever give up, demand answers from your doctor, question the root cause of your illness, find another doctor if your gut is questioning your current one, become your own health advocate, and guide your doctor by requesting tests be...
In my community, being a girl is like putting together a really difficult puzzle. Being a girl can often mean that the different pieces of you don’t quite fit together. You should not be well-educated, and your place is in the kitchen. You...
Early in my childhood, my parents separated and eventually got divorced. My sister and I went to live with our grandmother in rural Jamaica. We lived in a farming community called James Hill, down a rocky road at the foot of a hill called...
When I was 15 years old, I joined Youth for Youth, a Romanian non-governmental organization working on youth sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). I became a volunteer and a peer educator, and I went into the role with very little...
As a girl growing up in Kenya, a patriarchal society with a strong cultural heritage, I knew from the onset that achieving my goals was not going to be a walk in the park. Most of the time, I often considered myself a coward for the decisions I...
I first uncovered the inequalities and challenges that girls face at a very young age. When I was a girl, I loved basketball. It made me feel free, fast, strong, and in control of my own power and body when I played. But I learned really...