More Inspirational Girls Blogs
- Dyslexia: One Girl's Story from Tragedy to Triumph
- A Guide to Being Glamorously Green
- ROLE MODEL: Hazel McCallion
- Working Your Way Up
- Big Things Happen ...when you don't give up
- What Are YOU Meant to Do?
- Turning a Challenge into a SUCCESS!
- Meet Our Sisters from JAPAN!
- Sisters from Poland
- Beauty and the Beast
- "Only dead fish go with the flow."
- On your mark, get set...GO! Women in the Olympics.
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- Ponytails of Love
- No Matter What!
- Friends & Sisters - the perfect combo!
- Facing Fears - a real life story
- SAPPHO: The Poetess of Greece
- Dreaming Big Can Be Hard
- Goddess of the Month - SOL
- Tuareg: The Blue People
- Inspirational Girls - More Than Just a Hobby
- The Life of Pocahontas
- Girls on the Run
- Belief in a Dream, Dr. Jane Goodall
- Goddess of the Month - Dou-mu
- Inspirational Girls and Women - Lorene Hatelt
- Be Your Own Goddess - Ganga
- Sisters Around The World - Egypt
- Inspirtational Girls and Women - Silken Laumann
- Struggle for Identity - being a young woman during the times of the Renaissance
- Girls Honouring Outstanding Women
- Be Your Own Goddess - Selene
- Life in Africa as a teen of the Masai Tribe
June 2008 Blogs
- Real Girl: Shevya
- Feeling Stuck When Friends Are Changing
- No Matter What!
- Career Watch: Wedding Planner
- Ponytails of Love
- How to Create Your Own Time Capsule
- Ask a Guy: best childhood memory, fave sport, fashion and the way you look, guys pants hanging low
- Quebec
- The Problem with Plastics
- Gnarls Barkley, Rap/Alternative
- Panic at the Disco, Rock/Punk/Alternative
- Locks and Lashes: will my hair turn green, makeup and sensitive skin, sunscreen and moisturizer, stage makeup tips
- Spring Cleaning
No Matter What!
INSPIRATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN, June 2008, by Jenifer Merifield
No Matter What!
Life can be tough as a young woman or teen these days. Struggles at school, with peers, boys, self esteem or body image... it’s not always easy to rise up and figure it all out. Next time you’re feeling frustrated or ‘stuck’ with life, remember Ayan Hersi and know deep down that you have what it takes to beat any challenge. She sure did, and so can you!
As a young girl with her family in Kenya, Ayan witnessed the amazing resilience shown by Somali women at refugee camps. Can you imagine how hard it would be to feel positive while living in those circumstances? Kind of makes other issues seem not so bad.
With her mother’s strong backing, she drew on that resilience as a Somali refugee growing up in Canada. She experienced her father’s deportation and her mother’s struggle to raise five children with very little money.
With drive and determination, she resolved to be the first in her family to graduate from University! She started developing her leadership skills in high school. Against the recommendation of non-believing fellow students, she campaigned to win the title of President of Student Council. Being black and a girl, many thought she was wasting her time even trying. But with the support of her mother and her own dedication to her dreams, she won! She became the first black female to be elected at her school. With her new influence as President, she went on to develop an anti-racism campaign and a leadership program for girls to give them the opportunity to discuss their experiences and build their skills.
And that’s just high school. She made her University dream come true and plans to pursue a law degree in Women’s Health, Immigration and Human Rights. Never forgetting the world she left behind in Kenya, Ayan wants also to obtain a Masters degree in Public Policy in order to advocate for women in Canada and internationally. She spent the summer of 2007 in Namibia as part of a University of Toronto HIV/AIDS academic field project. She addressed AIDS education, using tools such as popular theatre and art. Together with the community’s girls and women, she produced an awareness video that is distributed in Canada and parts of Africa.
Ayan does volunteer tutoring and supports disabled students, ensuring they receive accommodations and financial assistance to succeed in school.
And of that wasn’t enough, she is now working on developing YouthinTouch.com, a website that will allow young people to have access to networking skills, money management, legal rights, education, and to connect with Canadian leaders.
Although Ayan’s story is one of great accomplishment and give-back, remember that she is just another girl like you, who has good days and not-so-good days. She has taught herself to push past anything and anyone who says “you can’t” and says “I can and I will”. When the going gets tough, YOU have the same choice, to say “I can”... NO MATTER WHAT!
*For her tenacity, vision and commitment to improving the lives of women and girls with all she brings tolife, Ayan has been selected as the YWCA's 2008 Young Woman of Distinction. Learn more.
~ Jenifer