.G.L.O.W.

Our second project that we started working on this summer was G.L.O.W. Girls Leading Our World. This was an opportunity for us to teach some girls in the slums self esteem, goal setting, maturation and hygiene classes and many other things to help them feel confident with themselves. I wasn't sure how successful this project would be. Only because the first 2 classes didn't go as planned and the girls were younger than we had anticipated. But looking back on this project I found that the girls taught us more than we taught them. My favorite lesson was the self esteem class that we taught them. We compared your self esteem to an apple. Having negative thoughts about yourself and others is compared to dropping an apple on a hard surface. Slowly, the apple is getting bruised. However, due to the apple peel, we aren't able to see those bruises. When you cut open an apple you will find a star shaped center. Everyone is a star inside no matter your circumstance. We taught the girls to speak kind words of others and yourself. I loved the looks on their faces when they understood what we were talking about.

We then asked the girls to write down 3 things that they love about themselves. As I went around taking a glance at their lists I found an incredible pattern. Almost every single girl in the group said: "I want to help poor people." and "I love my India." This really hit home for me. These girls have nothing and yet they still want to help those who are less fortunate. They are so proud of their beautiful India. This is a country where the citizens love and cherish it. I love that. I love how much love is shown from these girls. They want to succeed in life. They want to change the world. They want to be special. And they are. I will forever be grateful for our G.L.O.W. girls.

Hooray for good self esteem!!!