Get involved!

Image via flickr. 

For young women today, the world can be a complicated place – we have more opportunities than any female generation before us, but these freedoms don’t come without certain expectations and challenges. I love this quote by Courtney Martin:

“We are the girls with anxiety disorders, filled appointment books, five-year plans. We take ourselves very, very seriously. We are the peacemakers, the do-gooders, the givers, the savers. We are on time, overly prepared, well read, and witty, intellectually curious, always moving…We pride ourselves on getting as little sleep as possible and thrive on self-deprivation. We drink coffee, a lot of it. We are on birth control, Prozac, and multivitamins…We are relentless, judgmental with ourselves, and forgiving to others. We never want to be as passive-aggressive are our mothers, never want to marry men as uninspired as our fathers…We are the daughters of the feminists who said “You can be anything” and we heard “You have to be everything.”

— Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters 

One of my goals is to write a book – one that will be a source of inspiration and help for someone. So as I was praying for God to lead me to the right topic to write about, I’d like to believe God showed me His will.

I would like to write a book about the pressures young Christian women face in modern society. Specifically high school and college age girls. Topics I’d like to cover:

• Social networking
• Reality TV
• Fashion industry
• Friends
• Boys
• School
• Parents

I would love to use real world examples to illustrate the effect each of the above forces has on the type of person we become. Often, I talk to young women (and I’ve gone through the same thing), who are seeking to find a balance between who they are and what their friends, parents, and the entertainment industry tells them they should be.

I’ve heard questions and comments like:

• “Should I believe what my parents believe? Or do I find my own beliefs? How do I do that?”
• “Are my parents right that I should do this?”
• “What is God’s will for my life?”
• “I hate dressing like this and wearing so much makeup, but everyone else does it and I have to fit in.”
• “I know gossip is bad, but I’ve known these girls forever and they’re my only group of friends.”
• “I have to do this and this to get a husband.”

Although I would love to write a book solely on my experience and my opinions, but I’d rather let God lead other young women to speak up about their struggles. I think it’s time we speak up and share what we’re going through. Because if you’re feeling it, I can guarantee you there are dozens of other young women out there who are secretly struggling with the same thing.

So? How can you get involved?

• Email your story to yelenabosovik@yahoo.com.
• If you’re willing to do an in-person or phone interview, send me an email and we’ll rearrange it.

If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your name, then simply sign it with anonymous and your age and city, state.

I won’t share your stories with anyone else to respect your privacy, but they will be published. However, per your request, I will change your name so no one will know it was you. Feel free to ramble and write pages or simply jot down a sentence that has been weighing you down. Anyone who is or ever was a young high school-aged woman can participate!

Thanks and God bless you!

-Yelena