Good Girls Grow Up To Be Bad Ass Women.

“When I’m good, I’m very good—but when I’m bad, I’m better.” ~ Mae West

Good girls are sugar and spice and everything nice—but bad-ass women are moonshine and divine and just plain fine.

As little girls, we grew up on our mother’s hip learning the ways of womanhood from the sisters who began to pave the way towards individuality.

We were raised with the contradiction of freedom and expectation, and it is that very combination that has directed our own meandering journey in life.

A path that’s seen us struggle between both conformity and independence.

We were the “good girls”—we were sweet and made choices to see smiles spread upon the approving lips of those who mattered to us.

We said “yes” when we really wanted to scream “no!”—and we wore pink frilly frocks, even when all we wanted to wear was our favorite worn T-shirt and jeans.

If anything, we always did what was expected of us—because by letting others down, our place within the patriarchal system would come into question, and we might lose the approval from the very people that we sought validation from.

It was a bittersweet life being patted atop our precious heads and being told to dream, but not to dream too big—to aspire, but not to such great heights, and to speak up so long as it wasn’t too loudly.

It wasn’t always easy being the good girl, and sometimes it was downright painful.