Spotlight
3 Influential Young Women We Should All Aspire to Be More Like
They will use your age against you. However, they couldn’t be more wrong. Now is the opportune time for young people to take a stand about the things they care about.
These three young influential women show their sphere of influence in environmental politics, social activism, and professional success. These are all areas where women as a whole are highly criticized.
With these three being under the age of 21, they face a more intense criticism. However, there is no denying that because of how well they have taken everything they’ve faced that everyone can learn something from them.
Marsai Martin:
At just the age of 15, Marsai Martin has made an enviable career for herself. Martin got her break on ABC’s Black-ish, where she plays Diane Johnson. Her quick-witted, hysterical character has earned her three awards and eight nominations.
Her television success isn’t the only notable thing about this acting powerhouse. At the tender age of 15, she was the star and executive producer of her own major motion picture.
Professionalism at any age is important, but Martin shows that it’s achievable before leaving high school. She perfectly balances all aspects of her personality while being an incredibly successful young woman in Hollywood.
She’s often shown on television and in interviews not taking everything too seriously while speaking with an eloquence beyond her years. Martin shows us you don’t have to put on a stuffy persona to be taken seriously in your field.
Greta Thunberg:
It’s hard to deny that we desperately need to save our planet. However, we still have climate change deniers. Cue Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old environmentalist that’s been making headlines. Her mission didn’t begin too long ago, when in 2018 she protested outside of Swedish Parliament calling for stronger action to be taken.
Soon, other students caught on, and along with Thunberg they began organizing what they called Fridays for Future. She would go on to be this generation’s voice on climate change. Inspiring millions of students to protest for action all over the world.
While her activism is admirable, it isn’t the only thing we could learn from when it comes to Thunberg. It’s her rhetoric that stands out. Thunberg is known for her blunt and direct tone when addressing audiences and political figures alike. To put it simply, she doesn’t play around.
This is something that women aren’t usually taught, especially in politics and business. If you’re too blunt, you’re labelled a bitch. However, Thunberg shows that you can be successful in what you’re doing while being blunt. Her tone, and her words command respect.
She isn’t here to make you feel good, she’s there to show you why you need to care about what she’s talking about. This is something we could all use more of in our daily lives.
Emma Gonzalez:
Emma Gonzalez is one of the Parkland shooting survivors, as well as an activist for gun control.Though she went through one of the most traumatic experiences possible, she responded with courage. Shortly after the shooting, she helped found the gun control advocacy group Never Again MSD.
Her speech entitled “We Call B.S.”, which was aimed at the lack of action by politicians who received funding from the National Rifle Association, went viral. She would go onto make numerous media appearances, continue to be an outspoken advocate, and help organize March for Our Lives.
Politics aside, you can’t deny Gonzalez is a strong young woman. Even through all the negativity she has gone through, from being told the trauma she experienced was a hoax and having the head spokeswoman of the NRA come after her and her message, she still chooses to stand for what she believes in.
The greatest thing we can learn from her is that when we face trauma, when we are scared for our lives, the greatest thing we can do is make change. To call out the bad in the world. To use our voice, and any platform given to us, to make change.