Hillary Clinton's Powerful Advice To Her Teenage Self Is Everything
Get ready for Hillary Clinton to make you want to cry some seriously happy, sad tears all over again. The former presidential nominee has already managed to tug at so, so many heart strings as she makes the rounds for her new book "What Happened." Now, just prepare yourself for Hillary Clinton's letter to her teenage self, because it is incredibly moving and pretty much all the girl power we need right now.
On Nov. 8, Teen Vogue published a letter Clinton penned to her college freshman self. In the letter, she offered up some very valuable advice, gave a sneak peek of what was to come for her, and delved into some of the insecurities she faced as a young woman. Yes, Clinton also felt incredibly intimidated by women who seemed to have it all together. And, no, she doesn't think that should ever be an excuse not to let your own light shine through. Addressing herself as she was after her first semester at Wellesley College, she wrote,
When you first arrived on campus, you found yourself surrounded by brilliant, accomplished women. They were fluent in other languages. They had lived abroad. They had already read half the books on the syllabus. That was intimidating — so intimidating, in fact, that you called your parents and told them you didn’t belong at Wellesley after all, and you needed to come home.
The lesson there? "Take risks, and don’t be afraid to get caught trying," Clinton said. "Do your best to embrace the excitement that comes with not knowing what’s next, and remember that confidence and an open mind will always serve you better than insecurity and doubt."
Ughhh, I told you to get ready for all the feels.
Clinton has always been a massive champion for women, and has an acute ability to dole out advice that both envelopes you in a warm hug, and makes you want to get out there and kick some ass.
During a Women of the World Conference in 2014, Clinton touched on the many, many challenges young women face, both in the workplace and in their personal lives. She also offered up some very practical solutions. Like, don't kick yourself unnecessarily and never, ever underestimate your self-worth. She explained,
Too many young women I think are harder on than themselves than circumstances warrant. They are too often selling themselves short. They too often take criticism personally instead of seriously. You should take criticism seriously because you might learn something, but you can’t let it crush you. You have to be resilient enough to keep moving forward, whatever the personal setbacks and even insults that come your way might be. That takes a sense of humor about yourself and others. Believe me, this is hard-won advice I’m putting forth. It’s not like you wake up and understand this. It’s a process.
Clinton also noted the major differences between men and women in the workplace, and nudged young women to climb that ladder with more confidence, and way less self-doubt.
"Whenever I would say to a young woman, I want you to do this, I want you take on this extra responsibility, I want you to move up, almost invariably they would say, 'do you think I can?' or “do you think I’m ready?'" she said " ... When I ask a young man if he wants to move up, he goes, “how high, how fast, when do I start?'"
*Sigh.* That rings completely, painfully true.
If you need even more of a boost from our former presidential nominee, just remember her concession speech, where she basically put out a call-to-action, and reminded young women that they are "valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world."
OK, I don't know about you, but I'm wiping away the tears, going out to buy a white pantsuit, and then very unapologetically taking on the world.
