When it comes to luck, bestselling author Marie Benedict believes having a special someone who can pick out books you’ll cherish is a blessing. For her, that person was an aunt who also happened to be an English teacher and rebellious nun. When Benedict was a high schooler, her aunt gifted her Marion Zimmer Bradley’s book The Mists of Avalon. “That book was groundbreaking for its time and world-changing for me,” Benedict remembers. “I was mesmerized by the story because it was set in the familiar universe of King Arthur, except we now had those stories from the viewpoints of women characters. It really opened my eyes to the fact that in every story, every legend, every piece of history, there were stories from female perspectives I had never heard of.” Lawyer to Writer At Boston College, Benedict studied history and art history. She considered becoming an archeologist but was encouraged by her family to pursue a law degree. Benedict graduated from Boston University School of Law, embracing the financial security working as a lawyer provided. For over a decade, she worked at two of the country’s premier law firms and Fortune 500 companies in New York City. Despite being highly successful, she could not escape the feeling law was not a forever career. Benedict began taking archeology and history classes in the evening at local universities. While considering a Ph.D. program, the idea of a book came to her. Although she’d never taken a creative writing course and found the idea of becoming a …

One of the most valuable things we can teach young girls is how to empower other women. It’s essential to show kids that they can use their voices to help others and build female camaraderie. Teaching empowerment skills helps girls develop stronger relationships with important women in their lives and encourages them to take significant steps towards gender equality for all. Here are six ways to help girls lift up women of all ages and backgrounds. Teaching Girls to Empower Women 1) Identify Leadership Qualities in the Women Around You Nurturing ambition and celebrating leadership skills are so crucial for young girls. We need to show them empathy, communication, cleverness, positivity, and creativity all have value. Identify these traits in admirable women around them. Here is a simple yet powerful activity to do with your girl. Use this worksheet to identify great leadership skills in women you know. Help your little ones fill out this sheet, and then discuss who you chose for each quality and why. Download this handout 2) Practice Active Listening We need to listen to women’s voices and show them their opinions matter. To help girls practice active listening: Explain the why behind it. Show them that sincere listening makes people feel valued and appreciated. Practice giving your full attention, not interrupting, asking questions, and responding with no judgment. Actively listening will encourage the same respectful behavior from others. Download this handout 3) Give Genuine Compliments Another way to encourage girls to empower women is to enable them to complement with …

Images, not words, are how artist Christine Anne Nightingale learned to express herself. Not only are her mother and uncle painters, so was her paternal grandmother. Born in Santiago, Chile, Nightingale moved with her family to the United States at age 14. Throughout high school, she continued pursuing an interest in painting. After marrying a Brazilian, she relocated to Fortaleza, Brazil to study graphic design at the university Devry in Fortaleza. Nightingale recalls that except for Frida Kahlo, very few women artists were mentioned during her training. “I’ve discovered so many talented women since school,” says Nightingale. “I’m in love right now with the Swedish abstract painter Hilma af Klint. She was doing incredible, groundbreaking work before many of the famous male artists people are more familiar with today.” Elements of Spirituality For the next 10 years, Nightingale taught herself to paint with different media, including oil and acrylic. Choosing what to capture on canvas is “always an intimate search” for the artist. The human figure and nature are constant inspirations for her paintings, as is incorporating elements of digital collage. Much like Klint, Nightingale’s work has elements of spirituality. “When someone sees my artwork, I want them to feel something pleasant or maybe make them question themselves on how to achieve that feeling of wellness,” she shares. “Like a way of healing. I believe we see and experience so much negativity in the day-to-day that art has to be a good experience, but with a mix of curiosity and mystery. The feminine figure is …

For young April, weekends were sometimes TOO peaceful. Peaceful looked like dad watching the game alone in the TV room. Sister cordoned off in her bedroom with a new book. Mom gardening. Her boredom meant one of two things: Routine is killing my imagination, but I am too young to articulate this. I am so lonely, but I think everyone feels like this and I don’t know how to reach out. Consider your own adult boredom and you’ll probably find yourself agreeing with the above. Sure, our themes mature into career paths, romantic engagements, and the meaning of a connected life but the bedrock is the same: We’re unfulfilled in some way We’re understimulated or require new stimulation We have nothing to look forward to We’re disconnected from ourselves because we’re not engaging our personal passions or vice versa Within the context of helping your child when she’s been slumped on the couch for hours and sighs, “Mom, I’m bored”, some detective work is required. Now, it is true that fixing your child’s boredom is not your solo responsibility (ultimately, they must self-lead). However, it does require the intellect and wisdom of a parent to decipher what’s going on beneath the “I’m bored”. If your child knew, their whines would be far more specific. Your own lived experience tells you that your child will face boredom many times throughout her life. Don’t underestimate the value of teaching her what lies beneath boredom, and how to move through it. It’s a life-skill that holds its weight …

This spring, Girls That Create intern Latee’ Wilburn had the opportunity to attend the California Conference for Women. Below is her recap of the event and valuable takeaways she learned from speakers such as Stacey Abrams, Ursula Burns, Dr. Jane Goodall, and more. Bonus, here is the 2021 Conference playlist on Spotify. The California Conference for Women launched on March 4, four days before International Women’s Day. March is also Women’s History Month, making it the perfect time to celebrate woman leaders and promote women’s empowerment. Every keynote and breakout session was filled to the brim with compelling and inspirational woman leaders and speakers. There were also plenty of networking opportunities and career/personal development resources. Due to the pandemic, everything was virtual, but it did not water down or minimize the impact the conference offered. The website design was very similar to a physical conference that we would attend pre-pandemic. The virtual landscape displayed multiple rooms and a help desk. These aspects may seem small, but it makes all the difference after a tiring year of being continuously online. It also made patrons like me feel more present and excited to see what opportunities and guidance we could receive from the experience. Morning Offerings During the first hour of the conference, patrons had plenty of experiences and resources to delve into at the virtual exhibit hall. Virtual pavilions catered to networking, career development, health and wellness, and technology. They also offered free resume reviews and career coaching on top of on-demand learning bursts. These bursts tackled …

While the old nursery rhyme proclaims that girls are “made of sugar and spice and everything nice,” history demonstrates that girls are made of stronger stuff. “Girlhood (It’s Complicated)” showcases how girls have been on the frontlines of change and how they have made an impact on all aspects of American life. 200 Years 200 Objects Spanning a timeframe of more than 200 years and showcasing approximately 200 objects, including some never-before-seen artifacts, the exhibition examines the ways American girls, from Helen Keller to Minnijean Brown to Naomi Wadler, have spoken up, challenged expectations, and used their voices to effect change. Among the highlights are a 1781 sampler stitched by 13-year-old Betsy Bucklin, a makeup table from 1820, an 1850s gym suit, Helen Keller’s touch watch, the 1959 graduation dress worn by Brown, one of the Little Rock Nine, following her expulsion from Central High School and Isabella Aiukli Cornell’s 2019 red prom dress symbolizing her activism related to Indigenous women and decorated with tribal insignia representing her citizenship in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. “Girls’ lives are often imagined as idyllic, empowered, and uncomplicated,” said Anthea M. Hartig, Elizabeth MacMillan Director, and the first former girl to lead the museum. “Throughout American history, girls have resisted attempts to be defined and have used their voices to effect change. Yet, this is not an exhibition about ‘girl power’—if anything, this exhibition demonstrates that historically, girls have been denied power and agency. What it means to be a girl—and a woman—has continuously been debated and negotiated but …

Below are 10 touching quotes from women on raising daughters. Each one is a powerful reminder about mothers helping their girls grow up to lead full, valuable lives. 10 Quotes About Moms Raising Daughters “My mother’s love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, her intelligence reflected in my daughters.” ~Michelle Obama, attorney, author, first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017 “The more a daughter knows the details of her mother’s life, the stronger the daughter.” ~Anita Diamant, bestselling author “My mother shed her protective love down around me and without knowing why people sensed that I had value.” ~Maya Angelou, poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist “My daughter is one of my greatest inspirations. She’s an environmentalist, she plays piano, she’s raising money for the earthquake victims in Nepal. Every day she surprises me and teaches me something.” ~Patti Smith, singer-songwriter, musician, author, and poet “Women are not only deciding the outcome of elections, they serve as important role models for their daughters and other young women – they hold a key to expanding the way in which women value and experience politics.” ~Cheryl Mills, lawyer and corporate executive “I think, as women, we have to stop being scared to be the women we want to be and we have to raise our daughters to be the women they want to be – not the women we think they should be.” ~Jada Pinkett Smith, actress, screenwriter, producer, …

The results of a Google image search for the term “creative person” are very colorful. Literally. There are brightly-dressed people holding paintbrushes and pens. There are rainbows of color bursting from heads, chests, and sketches of brains. One could say the overall results are “arty”. But when did the universe-encompassing noun, adjective, and verb: “creative” become synonymous with the word “art”? By definition, creativity involves the act of making something. An act of creation. Art is far from the only thing humans make, but I bet you’ve never thought of Marie Curie as a creative. Have you ever flicked a light switch and contemplated the phenomenal creativity that birthed electricity? Or is that rather “too sciency” in your mind? Consider Einstein then. You’re probably thinking intelligence, genius, inventor. Maybe E = mc2 or wild white hair. Why aren’t you including this physicist’s extraordinary levels of creative thinking, discovery, and action? Nurture Creativity: Thinking Inside The Box “She’s a creative.” Depending on your upbringing, this statement has the potential to make you nervous or envious. Nervous because society has confused creativity with inner turmoil, unstable lives, poverty, a penchant for whimsy, and, at best, a substance-fulled-but-soulless-but-successful career in advertising. Envious because of the permission given. Creative women can be wild and free. They can wear bright clothes, have bold ideas, and are able to deeply express those ideas at will because “art”. These concepts are misguided and harmful. They hold us back personally. Worse, they cause us to handicap, restrict and misperceive our children because: This …

We’re so excited to announce the launch of the Girls That Create (GTC) store. You can find the storefront here. Created by talented graphic designer Laura Castillo, the shop features apparel, stickers, magnets, posters, and home/office goods. The items you see in our store today are just the beginning. We’ll be adding more, and we’d love to hear about the merchandise you’d like to see. Click here to submit your ideas and provide feedback. Become a Girls That Create Patron Looking for other ways to support GTC? Consider becoming a GTC Patron on Patreon. As the brand works day-in and day-out to support creative girls and their families, GTC is raising funds for the platform and its mission throughout 2021. All funds raised through Patreon will be used to increase the free resources, items, and creative support available to families. Specifically, GTC wants to PAY women freelances who contribute to the platform. This will also allow more diversity regarding the content GTC delivers. Patreon is a site that enables YOU to provide GTC with ongoing, reliable monetary support. People who can afford to contribute make it possible for GTC to remain FREE and be available for those who can’t. Bonus, you get some awesome stuff too. The GTC Patreon includes five tiers: a $6 per month package a $12 per month package, a $24 per month package, a $48 per month package, and a $96 per month package. Each package includes features like newsletters, monthly printables, surprise gifts special contests, and the list goes on. If …