In her new book Thrivers, Dr. Michele Borba helps parents and educators teach the essential character strengths kids need to become young people who flourish in a rapidly changing, digitally-driven, and uncertain world. As a teacher, educational consultant, and parent for 40 years, Dr. Borba has never been more worried for young people than she is about this current generation of kids. Across the nation, student mental health is plummeting, depression rates among teens are rising, kids are reporting severe anxiety at ever-younger ages. When Dr. Borba asks a group of students to “tell me about your generation,” most respond with stories of stress, anxiety, isolation, and fear. But some young people aren’t struggling; they’re thriving. They cope with adversity, develop healthy relationships, and embrace change. They are ready for whatever the world throws at them, even in uncertain times. Dr. Borba calls these kids Thrivers, and the more she studied them, she wondered, What is their secret? And can it be taught to others? Seven Essential Character Strengths For her book, Dr. Borba combed scientific studies on resilience, spoke to dozens of researchers and experts in the field, and interviewed more than 100 young people from all walks of life. In the end she found something surprising: The difference between those who struggle and those who succeed comes down not to grades or test scores, but to seven essential character strengths that set Thrivers apart (and set them up for happiness and greater accomplishment later in life): Self-confidence: Healthy identify, using personal strengths to …

2021 marks the 25th annual celebration of poets and poetry. National Poetry Month, launched by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, reminds the public that poets play an integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. Here are ten quotes by women poets to celebrate. Ten Quotes by Women Poets “We all move forward when we recognize how resilient and striking the women around us are” ~Rupi Kaur “Who so loves believes the impossible.” ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning “Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun.” ~Christina Rossetti “Art hurts. Art urges voyages – and it is easier to stay at home.” ~Gwendolyn Brooks “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~Mary Oliver   “Poetry is the lens we use to interrogate the history we stand on and the future we stand for. It’s no coincidence that at the base of the Statue of Liberty, there is a poem.” ~Amanda Gorman “We want deeper sincerity of motive, a greater courage in speech and earnestness in action.” ~Sarojini Naidu “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~Maya Angelou “Poetry, above all, is a series of intense moments – its power is not in narrative. I’m not dealing with facts, I’m dealing with emotion.” ~Carol Ann Duffy “Keep up the good work, if only for a while, if only for the twinkling of a tiny galaxy.” ~Wislawa Szymborska More Girls That Create posts: 10 Quotes About Moms Raising …

Rashida knew about periods. She knew she’d get one soon. It was a strange thing to think about. Nobody had spoken to her about blood and bleeding, breasts, and body hair. Not even her mom, who seemed to think the school would cover all that. Rashida looked down to wipe one Monday, and there it was. Red. Toilets have a way of making things feel incredibly routine, lonely, and unceremonious. And so it was. She waited until after dinner when her dad and little sister had left the room. In her head, she repeated her news as a way to build up the courage to tell her mom she’d irreversibly changed. She breathed deeply: “I got my period today.” Her mom stood up and left the dim room. Rashida was alone with her new blood again. Her mom returned, silently passed her a pack of sanitary pads. They were done. The girl had all she needed. Except she didn’t. Where Potentials Exist Pre-teen is a tricky time of teetering. Grown girls are about to become young women, lines transform into curves, and bodies turn cyclical. Overnight, body hair changes from meaningless to meaningful. If ever there’s a time to tightly hold your daughter’s hand and offer her all the wisdom of one who’s gone before, it’s at this crucial apex where potentials exist. She has equal potential to leap into a future-self timeline of self-loathing, confusion, and isolation or one of fierce self-knowledge, inner power access, and freedom. Two of the reasons this abyss-sized divergence …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A favorite celebration for many, Random Acts of Kindness Day (Feb. 17), has many practices we can act on throughout the year. It also offers an opportunity to consider what exactly it means to be kind. We can all build our kindness muscles, and the benefits of doing so include improving overall wellness and solidifying essential relationships. What It Means To Be Kind We, as humans, thrive on compassion. It’s been argued that kindness is one of humanity’s most vital pillars. Everyone deserves a little empathy because the ebbs and flows of life are complex. Showing strangers and people within our inner circle kindness can build new relationships, and lets loved ones know they’re special. It’s also a two-way street. Being kind to others encourages them to be kind to you, boosting your mood and long-term health. Jane Goodall once said, “The greatest danger to our future is apathy.” Maya Angelou stated, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Think about these powerful words. Goodall’s suggests the moment we stop showing concern towards others, our society is at risk of falling apart. Angelou points out a time will come when we’re no longer around. People will only have their memories of us. Accomplishing accolades and generating wealth are popular life goals, but are those all you want to be known for? What about being remembered as kind? Our lives must consist of giving and receiving kindness. Here …