Ahead of International Day of the Girl on October 11, we’re reflecting on the girls we once were and the women we’ve become. The dreams, confidence, curiosity, and ambition we have as girls do not simply disappear as we grow up. They evolve with us, shaped by experience, perspective, and the people who encourage us along the way.
We asked WIE Suite members a simple question: Tell us something about the girl you were and the woman you’ve become.
Their answers are a reminder that becoming a woman does not mean leaving that girl behind. Sometimes, it means carrying her confidence forward. Sometimes, it means turning her ambition into action. And sometimes, it means taking the big dreams she had and learning what it takes to make them real.
“I was definitely a girl who thought, ‘I can do anything.’ That’s thanks to my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother. They always instilled in me that I could do it, no matter what.
I was also definitely a girl’s girl. I was a Brownie, I was a Girl Scout, and that has translated into the woman I am today. I have friendships with girlfriends from when I was two years old, and I’m still that girl who loves to connect with her girls, hang out, and support them. I love that there’s that through line.”
“When I was a girl, I thought influence meant becoming a member of Congress or maybe one day running for president. But as a woman, I’ve come to understand that the greatest influence I can have is investing in women and girls.”
“I was a very competitive girl. Today, I’m a lot more introspective and reflective, and very much an advocate for other women.”
The woman I am now understands that a dream without a plan is just a dream. A naive vision unrealized is just the stuff of stories. Rewards accrue to people who put in the work to make the thing happen, who show up and do it day in and day out.
I have a much more pragmatic adult self, I suppose. But I still believe in dreaming big. I just understand what it takes to make the dream real.”
The girl we were is still part of the woman we become. Her confidence, her questions, her ambition, her friendships, and even her wildest ideas can become the foundation for what comes next. International Day of the Girl is a reminder to give girls the same thing so many of us were fortunate to have: the belief that their voices matter, their ambitions are worth pursuing, and there is no reason to dream small.
