On Saturday, February 4th, I had the privilege of attending Brentwood School’s “It’s Our Turn†Young Women’s Conference. Chaired by Maria Shriver, this one-day event flawlessly addressed and answered the question that I posed as the title of this article. As an Archer student, female self-sufficiency is not only our motto but is instilled into our everyday curriculum.
The first speaker I heard was Alex Morgan, a member of the US Women’s National Soccer Team. She touched on the importance of developing confidence in women athletes and how she looks to her teammates for support. I also heard from speakers Katherine Schwarzenegger, Marie Ferro, and Jess Weiner, three incredible paragons of dynamic women.
One of the funniest parts of my day was attending the “Be Our Own Self Defense†session, led by Lauren Roselle. From her electric personality to acknowledging “creepy feelings†about predators, she role-played various scenarios to emphasize how we must engrain our reflexes in order to protect ourselves. Check out her website www.esteemcommunication.org for more details.
I also had the pleasure of interviewing Daphne Valerius, creator of “i.am.her Apparel,†a clothing company whose mission is to offer a sense of pride and self-empowerment amongst African-American girls. All of this interviewing made me ravenous and as luck would have it, one of my favorite eateries, Homegirl Café, was catering the event.
For those of you who aren’t aware, this organization provides opportunities for at-risk or former gang-affiliated women to become contributing members of their communities. Let me just tell you, their food is awesome and is totally worth the trip downtown to get there.
Amongst the very full format of inspirational speakers was headliner and performer Mary J. Blige, who spoke candidly of her rise from poverty and abuse to her present day glory, which she averred can be achieved by any of us. She expressed that the key to finding success was to love yourself first, and to do that is to win.
To top it all off, Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance at the event. As the cheers of the ecstatic crowd died down, the icon spoke frankly about her past struggles with body image issues, a prevalent topic throughout the course of the day. She specifically addressed the subject of bullying (which Brentwood School has gone to extreme lengths to stamp out). Gaga is also launching the Born This Way Foundation at the end of the month, an organization that will work toward eliminating bullying and promoting self-expression. Students applauded the sincerity of her responses to questions posed by audience members.
Harkening back to Lauren Roselle’s comments, I believe that as women we need to channel our positive energies and move away from notions of fear and ongoing body-image issues, and aim toward what we are capable of. Thus, realizing our natural beauty and our innate confidence. 800 students from 100 different schools were in attendance at this event, and from interviewing many young visionaries, we all concurred that this had been a very informative and thought-provoking Saturday.
