Changing the World With Words by Erinn

Changing the World With Words by Erinn - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

Industry reports show that girls see a significant drop in self-esteem around age 9. This drop in esteem is both deeper and longer-lasting than that of boys. Girls with low self-esteem are more likely to suffer from depression and self-harm, yet only a few organizations are raising awareness or offering solutions. Words have unmistakable power, and the halls of middle or high school have the uncanny ability to bring out the worst of them.

I hatched a plan to create, fund, and publish a “self-help” book designed for girls in the 6th grade, who are just about to enter middle school and face the challenges that come from new pressures from peers, teachers, parents, and puberty. My book would include inspirational stories from older girls and women who’d overcome esteem challenges, along with exercises to help 6th graders overcome the common challenges to self-esteem: bullying, body image issues, tensions with parents, stress from more activities and expectations, and peer pressure.

First, I reached out and contacted individuals and organizations focused on women’s empowerment or girls’ self-esteem. Challenge #1 was that many adults ignored the outreach of a young girl. By expanding my contact list beyond my initial expectations of 20 to 1,000 or more, I finally found several adults or organizations who responded and allowed me to interview them, ask them questions about the topic, and get their advice on both writing a book and helping to guide young girls. I was able to gain many influential advisors, including a Marketing Director for the Always Brand’s “Like a Girl” Campaign, the Founder/CEO of NACWE (National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs), a teacher in Connecticut who had helped his students publish books and had good publishing advice, several YWCA and Women’s organization Presidents and leaders, several gender-inequality researchers, a Child Psychologist (to help review my content and ensure it was appropriately handling sensitive issues since the audience was young girls), among many others.

I developed a detailed year-long plan, outlining each of the 50 or more steps I would need to take, and created a calendar with deadlines. I researched book publishing costs, and hit Challenge #2 – self-publishing a book would cost $10,000 or more to be able to provide a copy to all of the 6th grade girls in my large school district. I developed a plan to get some work done pro-bono. I reached out to various women across the country, soliciting stories and artwork for my book, and contacted multiple women’s support organizations to get permission to use exercises I’d found valuable in my research online for potential inclusion in my book. I convinced some friends to help me edit my book for free, and found the Child Psychologist I mentioned earlier who was willing to provide input into my book as part of her annual pro-bono community contribution. I set up a fund-raising plan to raise the remaining $5,000 I estimated I’d need.

I’m currently reviewing my first draft with my beta-readers, advisors, and editors. I’ve found multiple volunteers who’ve written me stories and poems, and who are designing my artwork and editing my book, and I’m leveraging my network to finalize a discounted publishing cost-estimate. I’ve just finished raising the money to publish my book, and I plan to publish and release my book this Fall, with the permission of my Principal to help me distribute it to the girls in my district.

While there have been many hurdles and challenges along the way, from adults not taking me seriously, to contributors missing deadlines, to working through the challenges of book publishing “red tape”, I’ve grown and developed as a leader through this project. I’ve learned a lot, from project management to fundraising to marketing and PR. I’ve made networks of new friends who are connecting me to other great leadership opportunities, and I’ve actually seen my own self-confidence grow as I’ve tackled a project many others initially told me “couldn’t be done”. I was even recently featured in our community’s local newsmagazine as one of several “Women to Watch” for my work to improve young girls’ lives. (http://www.westchesterandlibertylifestyle.com/2016/04/27/guide-for-girls/).

I look forward to changing the world in one small way now…and many bigger ways down the road.