Being an empowered human on this planet is tough work—and becoming an empowered woman here is profound.
But this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for it every single day…we should, and we do.
As we near the end of another year, we can look back at the femme fatales whose words hit our hearts in just the right places, picked us up on the sh*tty days and inspired us to keep moving forward, no matter how grand or wee our progress may be.
There will always be people ahead of us, and there will always be some behind, but the important thing to remember is that we still have work to do.
Especially as women, we must continue to share our tear-stained and diamond-encrusted stories, as this is how we learn it is okay to grow.
1. “I don’t want other people to decide who I am. I want to decide that for myself.” ~ Emma Watson
2. “Extremists have shown what frightens them most: A girl with a book.” ~ Malala Yousafzai
3. “Women are never stronger than when they arm themselves with their weaknesses.” ~ Madame Marie Du Deffand
4. “Women are always being tossed…but ultimately each of us has to define who we are individually and then do the very best job we can to grow into it.” ~ Hillary Clinton
5. “I felt like it was time to set up my future, so I set a goal. My goal was independence.” ~ Beyonce
6. “She stood in the storms and when the wind did not blow her away. She adjusted her sails.” ~ Elizabeth Edwards
7. “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” ~ Maya Angelou
8. “I think it’s great to be flawed. I am hugely flawed, and I like it this way…You fall, get up, make mistakes, learn from them, be human and be you.” ~ Priyanka Chopra
9. “To me, Fearless is not the absence of fear. It’s not being completely unafraid…to me, Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death.” ~ Taylor Swift
10. “Fear—who cares?” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert
11. “As a girl, you’re supposed to love Sleeping Beauty. I mean, who wants to love Sleeping Beauty when you can be Aladdin?” ~ Ellen Page
12. “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” ~ J.K. Rowling
13. “Whatever you want to do, just do it. Making a damn fool of yourself is absolutely essential.” ~ Gloria Steinem
14. “Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.” ~ Michelle Obama
15. “You should never let your fears prevent you from doing what you know is right.” ~ Aung San Suu Kyi
16. “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
17. “She believed she could, so she did.” ~ S. Grey
18. “Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.” ~ Tina Fey
19. “I am never going to get caught up in that. I’m gonna look back on my life and say that I enjoyed it—and I lived it for me.” ~ Rihanna
20. “I can and I will. Watch me.” ~ Every badass woman ever
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Every success that comes has often occurred after a failure, so now is not the time to give up. It’s a new year coming, my dears—let’s realize that it is only self-doubt that has been holding us back.
Only recently in our world have women been able to hold places of power; we must not give these up.
May the badass women of 2016 inspire us to be our most powerful selves and kick some ass while doing so. Equality is something we all deserve and there are still many people in the world suffering without it.
May the courageous work we do now to rise up through our fears and limitations, improve the lives of everyone. Here’s to a truly wildly, inspiring 2017 to come!
~
Author: Sarah Norrad
Image: Author’s own
Editor: Yoli Ramazzina
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