9 hours a day, 63 hours a week, 3,276 hours a year. That’s the amount of time I estimate I spent worrying about my body and weight throughout the duration of middle school. That’s a full time job, more time than I spent in school, more time than I spent asleep. This is something that effects over 75% of American women at some point in their life, and we wonder why women have lower participation levels as they enter middle and high school. Eating disorders are the bane of female education and success, and the worst part is there is no chemical Imbalance, no prescription pill, and barely any genetic indicators to address. Eating disorders are a largely cultural phenomenon, and therefore must be addressed culturally. But how are we supposed to do this, when it’s largely commercialized and socialized behaviors which cause theses disorders? The answer to that is actually quite simple, however it will require cooperation from the adults in young boys and girls lives. Instead of telling your daughter or niece they look “Beautiful”, complimenting them on their appearance, affirm them for what they do. Focus on their intelligence, their passion, their personality. This practice may seem cliche, but one of the main reasons girls suffer from much high rates of eating disorders is because they are taught from a young age that their worth is more tied to their beauty than their ability. Changing your language around children and teens will teach them to seek value in themselves as people instead of objects, and since their is no way to change the stream of appearance-focused media girls will inevitably consume as teens, affirming their worth as individuals from a young age can make a world of a difference.

The investing tip I’ve always kept in mind when managing my investment portfolio “Don’t bet against the market”. While this tip seems straightforward, there is a more complex explanation for why this is such a useful tip and how to apply it to your investment strategy. Often times new investors will become overzealous with the information they learn about the stock market and will try to figure out loopholes or the ‘Secret’ to investing. Whether this includes shorting, risky day trading, or pump and dumps the tactics they employ are usually high risk, supposedly high reward, and involve some sort of strategy. When observing market trends over history, though, more often than not high risk high reward is not the most sustainable way of managing finances. Many of these “trade secrets” are no more likely to bring you wealth than gambling, and gambling is not the same as investing. There is a reason index funds consistently outperform human managed mutual funds. Time and time again, the market will outperform an individual persons whims, observations, and speculations, even if that person is well versed in the Stock Market. “Don’t bet against the market” is the only way I invest now, because I have trust that the economy will continue to rise and grow as it has done for the past 300 years. I purchase low cost index funds regularly, ones that follow NASDAQ or the S&P 500, or smaller tech funds, but I do not purchase emotionally. Human error and the belief that you are the one person who knows the secret is the bane of successful investments, and I continue to maintain that this tip is the best way for people (Especially teens) to invest.

A piece of art that has always inspired me is “Judith Slaying Holofernes” By Artemisia Gentileschi. I have always loved Renaissance style art for both the era it represented and for the diversity of the styles themselves. This particular painting inspires me less because of its contents, which are quite violent, and more for the cultural and personal context behind the painting. Artemisia Gentileschi is one of the most well known female Renaissance artists, and her subversive explicitness as well as her frustration with her treatment as a woman artist is reflected wonderfully in this piece. She frequently would paint pieces of women taking revenge on their rapists or fighting back against oppression, and the concentrated anger in these pieces are so vivid. The reason I selected this piece in particular, is its comparative properties. A very similar painting of Judith beheading Holofernes was done by Caravaggio about a decide before Gentileschi’s piece, and the differences between the two paintings are tangible. Gentileschi’s piece is more brutal, and the women in the painting are more animated. The clutching fingers, twisting of Judith's body, and even the depiction of the handmaiden are so lively and full of emotion. In Caravaggio’s piece, though undeniably well done, Judith looks much less animated, and the painting seems more like… a painting. The wonderful thing about the passion put into Gentileschi’s work is that though it was passion that stemmed from rage, it was what made her art come to life. She was channeling her real world experiences as a woman in the 17th century into her art, and it is visible through this painting especially.

My personal finance lesson that I have managed to abide by is ‘pay yourself first’. This sentiment may seem at first to make little sense, after all your money is your own asset so why would you need to pay yourself? The answer to that is, the person you are paying first isn’t you right now— to say, it isn’t the you who wants to go out to dinner with friends or upgrade your phone— The ‘you’ you are paying first is your future self, the person who has college loans to pay off, a medical emergency to cover, or a retirement fund they’re tapping into. When you pay yourself first, and invest that money into reliable mutual funds or your 401k, you are not only buying yourself security, but buying a day where you no longer have to rely on your job to fund your lifestyle. Investing in yourself and paying yourself first basically means a small sacrifice now in exchange for financial freedom later. I religiously sacrifice 20-50% of my paycheck to my investment account so that I always have some finances to fall back on, and I believe a financial lesson everyone could use is to start paying yourself now. Don’t wait for when you have a full time job and rent. Any time you receive money that you don’t need for essentials, put it towards your investments. Many teenagers have the advantage of not having as many expenses as adults, meaning they have more investment flexibility and less financial duress. Using this freedom while you still can, and building the habit of paying yourself first will ultimately be beneficial, and you’ll thank yourself for it as you get older.

To truly empower women, we must rewire our way of thinking from aiding women towards success, to giving women the tools they need to succeed on their own. Women are much more vulnerable to financial disparity, discrimination, and even financial abuse. The only way these women can combat such issues is by achieving financial freedom and Independence, so that they are free from entrapment and the financial prison that is an unequal job, or an abusive relationship. But how can these women achieve financial freedom when the system is rigged against them from the start? Society must make large, wide scale changes to combat this inequality. We must educate men and women on the true cost of child birth, the dangers of entering a young marriage when you aren’t financially sound, the importance of safe sexual encounters to combat the financial strain teenage pregnancy has on young women, and of course, we must inform these young women that financial freedom is something they should prioritize. We must empower women to make financially sound decisions, to always have savings, to educate themselves on investing, to always have a plan B. These tools we supply women with will give them the ambition to achieve freedom for themselves, freedom that grants them access to privileges less fortunate women can’t receive. But these women must also do their part and educate other less fortunate women on these issues, that is the only way society can shift to lift women through the metaphorical glass ceiling. A financially stable woman is a woman with less stress, more time to focus on her dreams and ambitions, more time to spend on combating gender inequality, more time towards her entrepreneurial endeavors, more time towards her family and her hobbies. Giving women the tools they need, the education they need to achieve this financial Independence does more than increase the money in her bank account. It empowers her to go out and achieve more, gain more leadership positions, enroll in more classes, get more degrees. Women as a whole are extremely unrepresented in the investing community, in leadership positions at large companies, and within financial lines of work. Often times they receive less parental guidance then their male peers on managing their own finances. They are told to “marry rich” or simply not told anything at all. This must change, because women’s median income is thousands less than men’s. Women are promoted less, expected to do more. These women must be empowered to take action, empowered to know their financial and educational worth, and to pursue what they truly want. This starts with us, and the intellectual tools we provide young women with to find their footing. Giving them the same advice on taxes, starting their own business, and investing as we give young men. Once women receive this empowerment to do more, and are finally given the same resources and tools men are, they will soar economically and mentally, career wise and ambition wise, and our economy will thank us for it.

“For women, financial Independence is a matter of necessity”-Carrie Schwab Pomerantz. This quote immediately grabbed me as a wake up call— a wake up call that in this world, with this culture it is time for women to start becoming more aggressive about achieving finnancial Independence. Financial Independence is the key to freedom— Freedom from being forced into an oppressive undesirable work situation, freedom to pursue your dreams, freedom to leave a dangerous relationship. It is the freedom to be unburdened by the many constraints women have upon them as a result of their gender. When a woman achieves financial independence, she is able to choose a job of her choice, she is able to be self sufficient and self reliant. She doesn’t have to worry about being trapped in a marriage for the sake of finances. She is free. This quote gave me the zeal and motivation it took to start working harder in school, invest more in index funds, research more on the stock market and achieve my long term financial freedom goals. My love for politics and international relations were embellished by my newly acquired determination, and I was able to do better in my political classes, achieve leadership positions in my MUN team, and work harder in my Accounting and Finance high school courses. Since this quote has entered my life, I have become more bold and self assured in all my endeavors. I have submitted more essays to contests, invested more money in index funds, opened a Roth IRA retirement account, and worked hard on planning my MUN team’s next conference and attend more MUN events and committees. It has given me the confidence to overcome my performance anxiety regarding public speaking and throw myself into attending high level specialized committees such as a Mock DNC, China-American War Committee, The Peruvian Fujimori Cabinet, all with amazing success that I never would’ve achieved prior. It took me from a person who was too afraid to speak up during a conference for fear of being judged for my position to being the person leading the factions within the conference. It was truly a turning point in my academic career, not just because the quote brought me inspiration, but because it caused me to realize something that I hadn’t even considered before— That women have an intrinsic disadvantage, being locked into marriage for financial reasons or being steps behind income— the only person who can give you the power to achieve is you. That means making your own, spending time and money and effort into doing so, on your education, career, and politics. Women in this world don’t need to be a big career women to have financial freedom, but it is something all of us must keep in mind as a means of self preservation and success. For the sake of ourselves, achievement and research and discipline are all necessary facets of our life which will allow us to thrive mentally and physically.

I have been an aspiring entrepreneur in the developmental stages for the past 3 years. I have learned much about E-Commerce and the management of online businesses through various mentors and guide books. My dreams for creating a business stem from my desire to create a widespread platform for women to share their experiences and connect with each other freely. I am a part of several online women’s spaces (Inclusive of all feminine identifying peoples of course) where we can be free of male judgement and societal pressures. My desire to create an application working as a message board/chat system for women to express their opinions on gender based discrimination, societal expectations of femininity free of external judgement from men. Having women discuss their life experiences with sexual harassment, pressures, adultification, and many other gender based forms of discrimination is an amazing way to allow female voices to be heard free of male molding and the male gaze. This application should not be viewed as a means of exclusion, but rather a vehicle of freedom for women who feel crushed by the ever present male opinion on their bodies, choices, experiences, and lifestyles. This application would be extremely welcoming, a celebration of femininity in all its forms, from trans women to women of color to non binary individuals who feel constrained by societal expectations of femininity. It would be an expression of feminism and a way for women to express their grievances freely. I have been working on the layout of this application for the past year, gathering information from feminist Tiktok and Reddit accounts to cater it to the demand for spaces for women. I hope to one day launch this application and create such a space for feminism and femininity to thrive and foster amazing female friendships and connections across the country.

Underestimating your abilities can be detrimental to your ability to succeed. Once you take that first step towards fighting for what you want, throw yourself into academic vigor, and force yourself to try, you can push away that doubt. The photos I submitted show a sequence of mine from attending an extremely vigorous and difficult mock DNC committee as Kamala Harris, to winning the “democratic nomination”, and finally celebrating my win of the Lester B Pearson Peacemaker award with my teammates. The experience taught me discipline, confidence, and to force myself into scary situations for academic achievement.