Always, I have been searching for ways to make a difference. I have been an avid member of the Handley Interact community service club since I started at John Handley High School, and this gave me an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in my local community of Winchester, VA. I have been an active member since freshman year, and was also event leader during my junior year, which meant that I participated in the most hours of community service of anyone in Interact club. I have always been passionate about Interact, and, next year as a senior in high school, I am excited to be vice president of our club. I am thankful that I have this opportunity to see the need that is in this world and to be a part of that change. I have been part of the vision of Interact through out high school, but recently I have had a desire to use the skills I have learned to do more.
I wanted to pursue my own vision to make the world a more equal place, and that is why I established The Princes[s] codes. Women have come a long way in recent years, and there is much more gender equality than before, but there is still work that needs to be done to fill the gap. Women are given the opportunity to learn, but the environment is more conducive to disrespect than it is to education. The bottom line is that women are not always seen as equals. They are often told that it is a man’s world, and they need to embody the characteristics that are generally associated with strong men. They aren’t told that they can lead in a skirt and heels. They are told that they can only lead if they conform and change themselves to be more like men. If the majority of women who are in power are the women who act like men, then we still give men the upper hand. We all need to fight for a world in which gender isn’t a factor when it comes to having opportunities and becoming a leader, and that is the goal of The Princes[s] Codes. The goal is to change the way that women and men work together so that males become collaborative rather than combative.
The way to solve this issue in our society is to turn to role models that have been leading young girls for years: Disney princesses. Before you laugh, I want to say that everything I have learned, everything I believe, and everything I am can be connected back to what I have been taught by Disney princesses. On the surface, people may believe that they are examples of weak women, but they are true examples of women who have followed their dreams, achieved the improbable, and searched within themselves for the truth. These princesses tell girls that they can be as feminine as they want to be, and this will never stop them from becoming powerful in their careers or in their lives. In fact, following the codes that Disney princesses live by would help young girls in all of their endeavors as they mature.
To truly accomplish gender equality, both men and women must be invested in this goal. It is important that even at a young age boys and girls respect each other and treat each other as equals. In order to dispel gender stereotypes about girls, this organization will use the codes of a princess to show that all girls and women are princesses since they are tough, brave, and strong. To be a princess is to share your thoughts, to be persistent, to be courageous, to be kind, and to fight for what you believe in. Any girl who believes in these qualities is a princess, and any boy who believes girls should be treated as princesses is a prince.
With this vision in mind, I am launching ThePrincessCodes.com. As our first endeavor, we are going to offer a Python Coding camp for rising 6th through 8th graders. The camp is open to both princesses (girls) and princes (boys). It will operate under the principles of the codes of a princess and will help girls and boys learn how to treat each other with respect as they work together. We hope this is the first step to a more equal and just world.
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