Sparkle Schoolhouse

Sparkle Weekly Wonderings: Strength

Those of you who have been with us for a while may have noticed that we regularly return to a specific theme: strong girls. There are many good reasons for this practice — and today’s theme is no different.

First of all, let’s talk about strength. It seems to me that the world is re-evaluating what it means to be “strong.” We are no longer satisfied with the traditional, purely physical definition of strength. These days, we include not only resilience, grit, willpower, and diligence, but also healing, vulnerability, and forgiveness. We are beginning to appreciate that those last three require a whole new level of strength.

Girls and women have been encouraged to develop this kind of strength in a way that boys and men have not. As a boy, society discouraged me from crying, expressing my vulnerability, and doing anything that could be perceived as weak. Thankfully, those days are over.

My own boys know that vulnerability, forgiveness, empathy, and grieving require great strength and that they can find models for these qualities in the world. They also know that many of these models are found in the lives of women and girls.

So, in addition to celebrating warrior women, powerful queens, and defiant girls, let us also celebrate the kind of strength that is currently transforming this country and the world: the total strength of the feminine.