When I attended the Girls Leadership Institute I was going into my freshman year. For most people, this is a pretty transitional time. Most incoming freshmen are attending a new school, or at least a new division of their school. My school was different. High school started in 7^th grade, and so I was pretty sure I knew everything I needed to. I think I thought of myself as a pretty confident person. How I measured this confidence, I’m not sure, but I think it had something to do with standards I compared myself with. Did I think I was pretty? Yeah, I was basically satisfied with my appearance. Did I think I was smart? I had good grades and I went to a good school. Did I feel comfortable meeting new people? Hey, I was at GLI, and I’d just made a ton of friends, so yeah, obviously! In a way, I wish I could back to my fourteen-year-old self, and sort of do a reality check. I think I would have sat myself down and asked myself different questions.  

 Kesha Rose Sebert wakes up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy. Then the young, blonde, singer-songwriter brushes her teeth with a bottle of Jack and hits the city.  I’m paraphrasing Sebert, better known as “Ke$ha” in her popular song “Tik Tok,” which is about partying, getting drunk, and being the center of attention. These themes may not seem unusual to most people. After all, our culture puts a lot of emphasis on sex, money, drugs, and alcohol. But, something about the comparison between Ke$ha and P. Diddy seems a little off. Could it be that, although she’s reiterating themes we hear all the time, Ke$ha is actually one in a group of fresh, young, female, pop music mavericks? The past year has brought forward a few women who are stepping all over the good girl image, while simultaneously embracing a bad girl image many of us have never seen before. We’re used to seeing girls partying and dancing in music videos, but it’s always behind male rappers who brag about sex and money, while often degrading women. Can girls be “lookin’ like pimps”? Can they have “swagger”? Ask Lady Gaga and Ke$ha, who are proving to be some of 2010’s most interesting women as they dirtying up their acts, with alcohol, dollar signs, sex….and maybe messages of empowerment.

With the New Year approaching, I can’t help but entertain the idea of resolutions.  As I think back on past years and try to recall goals I set for myself, I can’t think of any. I certainly can’t think of any I’ve actually achieved. However, I can think of many things both in my personal and more public life that I feel I’ve conquered since December, 2008.

I recently came across this article by Linda Babcock from 2008 called, "Women, Repeat This: Don't Ask, Don't Get." The article deals with the issues of Babcock's new book Women Don't Ask.

He’s a stud, she’s a slut. He’s funny, she’s freaky.  He has fun, she’s wild. He’s so chill, she’s a screw up. 

 Two weeks ago, I made one of the biggest changes of my life. I left my school of eleven years and transferred to a different one after school had already started.

Urban Dictionary defines it as, “a term for a club that only allows men into their group, often used as a way to get away from their wives/girlfriends and hang out with other like-minded individuals.” Sometimes prefaced with the word “old,” it has been mentioned by many hot-shot female CEO’s and Senators who, after penetrating the club, revealed it to

When I was in preschool, the girls in my class created a nail polish club. Admission relied on one crucial characteristic: you had to be wearing nail polish. This made the club pretty exclusive, since not many three year olds are nail salon frequenters, but somehow I have a feeling that was the purpose of the club. That, and it was a chance to show off your pink nail polish, if you were one of the girls allowed to wear it.