Imagine you have 60 seconds to share anything you want with every single 15 - 25 year old girl in the entire world. What would you say?
Now stop for a moment.
Before you continue reading, take a couple minutes and answer this question yourself. You don't have to write anything down, just give yourself a little bit of time to think about it...
I was sitting in a room of girls, having just listened to a presentation on "faith and fashion", when the presenter gave us this challenge, and 5-10 minutes within which to complete it. I had a bit of trouble figuring out where to start and what I wanted to say. No pressure, I thought, its only supposed to be for every girl around my age in the world. Of course, I knew that whatever I wrote wouldn't really be going anywhere except my notebook, but even as a personal exercise, that's a bit intimidating. Since I was running out of time, I asked Our Lady to guide my mind and the Holy Spirit to guide my hand (side note: this quick prayer is a super helpful and calming way to start tests and quizzes), and made myself start writing. I was surprised at how easy it was to keep going, and ended up fairly happy with what I had produced:
Don't listens to the world and its standards of beauty. You are not made for this world! If you need a good role model, look to Our Lady. She embodies beauty, love, and goodness, and she is a Queen! Then look to those who love Her, and you will see a "real life" example to follow. Finally, look to the crucifix. That is the ultimate image of true love, and it was done for you. Know always that you, as a daughter of the King, are enough for Him, so it doesn't matter if you're enough for the world.
Reading back over this, there are a number of things that I would reword or change. Things like adding Mary's full title (Queen of Heaven and Earth), or finding a different way to express what I mean by "real life" without making it sound like Mary isn't relatable or real. However, I was glad I had made myself just start writing, and glad I had used a pen so I couldn't spend forever erasing and rewriting. It was cool to see what I came up with, and as girls volunteered to share their messages, I loved seeing the different things that we had thought of.
I couldn't figure out at first why I liked this exercise so much. But I realized that what each person writes in the moment says a lot about them. When someone is given a prompt and only a few minutes to write on it, whatever they write almost necessarily comes straight from the heart. I would challenge each of you reading this to set a timer for 5 minutes, grab a pen, and start writing. Don't be afraid to be bold, and say what you truly think is important for 15-25 year old girls to hear. Once you've finished your message, though, don't just close up the notebook or stick the piece of paper in a desk drawer. Reread what you wrote, and pray about it. Ask yourself, "Am I living this out like I'm (figuratively) telling everyone else to?" Most likely, the answer is going to be no. And that's not a bad thing. It's something to take to prayer and to strive to embody more fully in your everyday life. The goal would be that if you put that message anonymously in a list of messages and asked someone close to you to choose the one that best fits you, they'd pick yours.
I hope you enjoy this exercise and that it will help you to grow closer to Our Lord and Lady. Feel free to comment your messages below! You won't reach every girl in the world, but you can at least share it with a couple, and I'd love to hear what you come up with. :)
God bless!
