Life is hard, then it’s a bit easier, then it’s hard, then it rocks, then it’s hard again. Empowerment is all about how we deal in the hard times. Do we fall apart, get stuck in victimville, blame, judge and hit rock bottom? Or do we sit in the discomfort, reflect and lean on the […]
Who are you? Hi I’m Evelyn Reese a Junior in High School in Illinois. I play varsity golf with my school and friends. I love to paint, take pictures and travel. What are the beautiful qualities within you that make you unique? I am a problem solver, which is something I’m proud of because I […]
Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude – ‘be grateful’, ‘express gratitude’, ‘write down your gratitude’…We hear about it, we’re told to do it, and we read about it – but I’ve come to believe many of us don’t fully understand how to use gratitude as a tool to manifest, nor do we fully understand why so many experts […]
Our teen daughters often don’t share their struggles. Between the busyness of day-to-day life and our often tight-lipped teens, we’re left grasping for a connection. Sometimes we feel like we’re raising a stranger. We think, “How did we get here?” or “We used to be so close.” I get it. As the mother of teenage […]
Who are you? My name is Meegan Bailitz and I am a freshman at OPRFHS. I am the oldest of four kids and have lived in River Forest my entire life! I played high school volleyball this past season, and also really enjoy hanging out with my friends. What are the beautiful qualities within you […]
As a society we’ve become obsessed with academic excellence, sports and extracurricular activities. The crazy ‘race to college’ that starts putting pressure on our kids way too early is literally stripping teens of their joy. As parents we need shift our focus and put an equal amount of time, energy and money into their emotional […]
My name is Ashley Robles and I am 14 years old. I am a swimmer and I live with my mom, dad, two sisters, niece, and dog. I just graduated from Lincoln Middle school in Berwyn. What are the beautiful qualities within you that make you unique? I think what makes me unique is that […]
It would be a vast understatement to say women’s rights are in the national spotlight. There’s no escaping it. Whether it’s inflammatory remarks tweeted by our nation’s president himself, or the stories of misconduct that have birthed the powerful #metoo campaign and inspired commentary from everyone from Oprah to high school girls calling out the […]
How embracing a messy, imperfect life can teach our daughters the beauty, courage and strength behind owning our fears. Sometimes the busy-ness of life gets in the way of connecting with our teens and we feel stonewalled between the hecticness of school, work, activities, meal planning, etc. We wonder, “why aren’t we connecting?” or “how […]
Grace has become one of my favorite words and my biggest goal these days is to deal with life with Grace. So what do I think of when I hear the word Grace. To me Grace is the ultimate display of control of thoughts, reactions and behaviors. It’s having clarity of who you are and […]