Zada’s Girl Talk Story
Five years ago, my mom signed me up for Girl Talk Camp and truthfully, I didn’t want to go. She dropped me off kicking and screaming (quite literally) and she let me go into the wild and I haven’t looked back since. Not only did I return each day for camp that summer, but I continued to come back every year and stayed involved with Girl Talk by becoming an Ambassador in 2020. After being involved with the organization for three years, l have co-led Girl Talk’s 2022 Camp, returned as a third-year Ambassador, and been recognized as the 2022 National Leader of the Year. Being able to serve as a face for Girl Talk in my community has been so rewarding.
Girl Talk has given me mentors, mentees, and many connections with girls around the world that I cherish. The community has also ingrained the need to be vulnerable. The act of vulnerability has become such a normal part of my relationships in my everyday life that I must attribute it to Girl Talk and all the mentors who made me feel like my vulnerability was okay. Girl Talk is my safe place. It is a place where I feel I can be whoever I am, happy or sad, and still feel the unconditional love and support my middle school self yearned to feel.
I am so endlessly grateful for Girl Talk and all that it’s brought to my life. It has helped my confidence and leadership abilities exponentially and created a safe place for me to express who and what I want to become.
The biggest lesson Girl Talk has taught me is that it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to make mistakes, to mess up a little, to stumble. That’s what makes us human and it’s what we do after we stumble that matters most. Girl Talk has been my light at the end of the tunnel. I am so endlessly grateful for Girl Talk and all that it’s brought to my life. It has helped my confidence and leadership abilities exponentially and created a safe place for me to express who and what I want to become. I have been able to do things like being in student leadership positions at my school because of the leadership qualities Girl Talk has brought out in me these last few years.
Looking back, I would tell my middle school self to keep going even when times get rough it always gets better. Learning how to be a leader showed me that leadership is always evolving. No matter what position you are in or what company, your leadership skills can always improve and get better, and I wish I could’ve told my middle school self that even though you don’t feel like a leader now, keep pushing, keep growing, keep building and those leadership skills will come.
Girl Talk has been inspiring girls like Zada to be confident leaders for over two decades, and in partnership with Dove and Sam’s Club, we will be doubling our reach nationwide. Join us in empowering thousands of more girls to build confidence and self-esteem through our peer-to-peer programs.
Learn more by visiting: https://samsclub.com/DoveSelfEsteem