In All The Years I've Been A

The Fullness Of Life Comes From An Identity Built On Giving And On Joy.

Many Young Women Are Less Whole And Androgynous Than They Were At Age Ten. They Are More Appearance-conscious And Sex-conscious. They Are Quieter, More Fearful Of Holding Strong Opinions, More Careful What They Say And Less Honest. They Are More Likely To Second-guess Themselves And To Be Self-critical. They Are Bigger Worriers And More Effective People Pleasers. They Are Less Likely To Play Sports, Love Math And Science And Plan On Being President. They Hide Their Intelligence. Many Must Fight For Years To Regain All The Territory They Lost.

Adolescence Is A Time When Children Are Supposed To Move Away From Parents Who Are Holding Firm And Protective Behind Them. When The Parents Disconnect, The Children Have No Base To Move Away From Or Return To. They Aren't Ready To Face The World Alone. With Divorce, Adolescents Feel Abandoned, And They Are Outraged At That Abandonment. They Are Angry At Both Parents For Letting Them Down. Often They Feel That Their Parents Broke The Rules And So Now They Can Too.

Girls Have Long Been Evaluated On The Basis Of Appearance And Caught In Myriad Double Binds: Achieve, But Not Too Much, Be Polite,but Be Yourself, Be Feminine And Adult; Be Aware Of Our Cultural Heritage, But Don't Comment On The Sexism. . . . Girls Are Trained To Be Less Than Who They Really Are. They Are Trained To Be What The Culture Wants Of Its Young Women, Not What They Themselves Want To Become.

True Freedom Has More To Do With Following The North Star Than Going Whichever Way The Wind Blows. Sometimes It Seems Like Freedom Is Blowing With The Winds Of The Day, But That Kind Of Freedom Is Really An Illusion. It Turns Your Boat In Circles. Freedom Is Sailing Toward Your Dreams.