Middle School Girls And What They Worry About Most
If given the opportunity to relieve your youth, would you? You’d probably have some clarifying questions, like how far back are we talking?
If we said to go back in time and live out the years between 10-18, and you don’t get to take any of your life experience with you, would you go? We are willing to bet that the answer would be no.
Because we know just how hard those years are to navigate…now imagine navigating them in our current climate. The pressure to perform, to have your life planned and figured out, to be the cool girl, and also the kind girl. To fill your days full with academic accomplishments, sports teams, the right friend group, being over cautious of what you eat to not to draw attention to your body.
Don’t be too loud, they’ll look at you and call you attention seeking. Don’t be too quiet or everyone will think you believe you are better than them, a mean girl. Don’t be too thin or you’ll hear the whispers of “eat a burger” as you roam down the hall. Don’t be too big or you’ll hear laughter as they tell you to stop eating.
It doesn’t matter what you do in today’s current climate as a young girl, it feels like you can’t win, like you can’t do anything right. The worry that if you show your truest self you’ll be unwanted.
Unlovable.
It is a belief that goes generations deep.
How do we make it better? How do we create a world for the next generations to flourish instead of shrink? A world where girls can expand, take up space, roar, move in a way that sets them free?
It’s about creating a space without judgment. A place for them to explore the inner workings of their heart, to share the words that have longed to be witnessed by another. It’s by getting in community with other girls, and hearing those healing words of “me too”. Realizing exactly how not alone they are in this challenging landscape. It is a space for them to honor their “no” and learn they have a say, that their body is theirs and only theirs.
Through movement we navigate what it feels like to be IN our bodies. How when we shift our state we can shift our mind and our mood.
Through heart led conversations, they get to navigate their beliefs, ask questions and get curious. Try things on and take them off if they don’t fit.
We aim to be both a safe landing and a launch pad for the young girls in our community.
A safe space for them to be witnessed as they explore who they wish to become. When they are ready to fly and be free, we cheer them on so loudly that they get second hand embarrassment. We will ALWAYS be in their corner.
The love runs so deep for the girls in our community, knowing with their presence and fierce hearts, that they are healing generations to come as they bloom in muddy waters.