My Heroes are Teenagers

I’m sick today. It finally caught up with me in the form of throbbing sinus pain that feels like my teeth are going to eject out of my mouth. Even my pillow hurts the side of my face.

Putting words in order and forming snappy sentences is too much of a long shot today. Instead of thinking about other brain hurting/distressing things like the election—who will win and what it means—I’m turning my attention toward two heroes, who also happen to be teenagers.

Malala Yousafzai started writing (under a pseudonym) about education rights for girls in Pakistan since 1999 when she was eleven, not even a teenager, and survived a bullet to the head a few weeks ago when the Taliban attempted to assassinate her on her school bus. On the school bus? If you made it up no one would believe it–it’s that outlandish.

They say they’ll finish what they started, which is just too bizarre to be comprehendible  The good news is that Malala is making progress; she can stand and write. She survived a bullet to the head. This girl deserves prayers and support. If nothing else, just spend some time thinking about how awesome she is.

Eighteen-year-old Stella Boonshoft is an activist of a different kind: she’s fighting the war on sizeism. Oh, man. A Pakistani girl fights for education rights for girls, and an American girl fights for women to not be judged by stretch marks and thighs that rub.

What in the world is wrong with us?

Stella’s blog post starts with:

WARNING: Picture might be considered obscene because subject is not thin. And we all know that only skinny people can show their stomachs and celebrate themselves. Well I’m not going to stand for that. This is my body. Not yours. MINE. Meaning the choices I make about it, are none of your fucking business. 

Malala said:

I don’t mind if I have to sit on the floor at school. All I want is an education. And I’m afraid of no one.”

Um, yeah. These teenage girls are my heroes. They are brave. They are saying what others are afraid to, and they’re standing up for what they believe in. In a world that sometimes seems to be going to hell in a hand basket, these girls represent hope. Go Girls!

I nabbed this off npr.com….