“I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world. Justine Siegal may have been the first woman to throw batting practice to a Major League Baseball team, but she focuses all her work on providing opportunities for young girls to play ball, too. “It is not about being the ‘first’ or the ‘only’… It’s about creating a pathway for the girls coming up.” - Justine Siegal, American baseball coach and sports educator Just like Lizzo, let’s all vow to never be conventional and to never ever apologize for who we are. “I like that I’m not typical.” - Lizzo, singer and songwriter This is a good reminder that everyone has the right to demand respect. “You don’t have to love me, but you damn well have to respect me.” - Toni Morrison, novelist and essayist Take matters into your own hands and step up to run for office, or to run the world, whichever. It’s a waste of time to wait to be invited, especially into politics.

“I believe women and minorities often wait for permission to be invited to something we need to stop doing that.” - Rep. Women often get perceived as “dramatic” when they’re really just communicating their needs, but men usually aren’t framed this way when they ask for what they want and need. “It’s never overreacting to ask for what you want and need.” - Amy Poehler, actress, comedian, director, producer and writer This applies to both the individual woman and what we can accomplish when we come together as women. “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” - Michelle Obama, lawyer and former first lady of the United States

Here are some words of wisdom from authors, actors, athletes, comedians, activists, musicians and politicians that will help girls empower themselves to defy gender expectations. Once when I was walking up a flight of stairs with my 4-year-old cousin, while a man was walking down the same flight of stairs, I watched my cousin pause, think about it, and say, “Oh, I get it! Boys go down the stairs and girls go up!” If it’s that easy to learn gender expectations, it can’t be any harder to unlearn them. It’s easy to let these expectations seep into our daily lives. We see it everywhere: the baby clothes aisle where one side is pink and the other side blue, the toy store where the trucks and dinosaurs are kept separate from the dolls and art supplies, the tea parties that boys don’t get invited to and the baseball teams that girls get cut from. From the time we’re born, we’re taught that girls and boys are different.

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