Debra Styer Illustration

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The Girl Effect...



I've been thinking a lot about what I am suppose to do in my life lately and especially since I started to run bluehour studio full time. What is my purpose? What can I do with the gifts I have? How do I stop my fears and get my dreams accomplished. I sit, I draw, I worry and I wonder am I doing the right thing with my life?

The funny thing is, it is gift to even be able to ask these questions. I'm an educated, middle class, white girl from the US. I'm very lucky. I've been blessed with all the freedom in the world. I have wonderfully supportive parents and friends and I am blessed with an awesome, loving, smart and kind husband.  With all their help, I have learned to find my strength and success in life.

This is not saying that my life was easy. I had my troubles, problems and doubts that I still deal with everyday but I survived and now I lead a very good happy life.

Some girls are not as lucky... Imagine if by the time you were 15 instead of worrying if anyone was going to ask you to the dance, you had to worry about who you were going to be married off to. You'd pray that your husband won't rape and beat you. And you pray you have the strength to raise your children. You would pray you would stay healthy and safe. It is not the way anyone should live. But millions of girls do.

I heard about The Girl Effect a few months ago and I was blown away. I mean, I knew that a large percentage of girls/women lead really, really difficult lives. But I did nothing.  I suppose I felt helpless about it all. I mean what can I do?

I decided to join in with Tara Sophia Mohr and her  Wise Living Blog. She is having a campaign for bloggers to tell people about The Girl Effect.  It may be a little thing but it is something I can do.




Watch how supporting girls to helping change the systems can really effect lives:



And you can do something too. You can learn, you can give or you help spread the word.

P.S. I wanted to thank Tara@ ScoutieGirl for pointing this out to me.