Why I Want to Help Teen Girls

I’m so excited about this new book I’m writing called, Secrets Girls Keep. People often ask why I wrote The Powder Box Secrets or how I started Girls With Dreams. To put it simply, I know all of us have secrets, especially teenagers. So here’s a little bit more about why I want to help teen girls.

Our secrets help us, hurt us, and seem to be a rite of passage into our teen years and beyond. I think most teenage girls have secrets. Some cement friendships, others help us hide our true feelings or problems.

I don’t want to have to fake it anymore. I don’t want girls to hide their fears, pain or despair. I want us to be able to tell our truths, share our secrets, and give each other the strength and courage we need to be ourselves and follow our dreams. We take steps to reach our best life by opening up and sharing. Don’t we all want to put our best foot forward and embrace all the possibilities in a world that is creating more opportunities for girls and women?

After all, each of you are amazing, courageous, intelligent, unique, and beautiful! Can you accept that? Don’t let society brand you with one of its labels. We are all so much more than the popular girl, pretty girl, goth girl, religious girl, prep, jock, or nerd.

Everything we do at Girls With Dreams is about dropping the labels we’ve accepted for ourselves and given to others. It’s about celebrating being girls and sharing ideas and secrets that connect us all. I’m tired of accepting what our society tell us we need to do in order to be successful or liked. Those expectations are based on the premise that we’re never good enough and, even worse, that we must knock each other down to get to the top. It doesn’t need to be that way. I want to start a movement where girls push back the stereotypes, false labels, unrealistic expectations, and airbrushed images that surround us and shape us. I wanted to create a safe place where girls create and own their biggest dreams, a place where we can support each other, and a place where we take action in our own life and in the world around us.

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Adopt an Animal and Help Save the Planet.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking my two kids to the St. Louis Science Center to see the Omnimax shark movie because one of my kids has always loved sharks. I understand if you’re terrified of them, but they’re really more misunderstood than bad. Humans actually kill millions of sharks every year. This statistic, in addition to climate changes, might eventually lead to the distinction of sharks, which would wreak havoc on our ecosystem! Sharks are one of the oldest animals around, dating back to before the dinosaurs. 

As a result of my recent adventures, I did a little more research online and found a few quick ideas for how you might reach out to help our planet. The World Wildlife Organization has a ton of resources about our planet, environment, animals and so much more! They also have this cool adoption program, where you can adopt an animal with its own certificate for as little as $25. For $50 you can even get the plush animal to match. You can choose from about 90 animals! Wouldn’t that be a cool gift?

Besides checking out these sites, we can all do our part by looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint every day. Even simple things like turning off lights, unplugging your cell phone charger, car pooling, and recycling, all help make a big difference.

So, what’s your favorite animal?

December News at Girls With Dreams

As the founder of Girls With Dreams, I wanted to fill you in on all of the fun and exciting things coming soon!

I was in Vegas last weekend, hanging out with my mastermind group, The Billionaire Girls Club. We are dedicated to helping each other and Igniting Women to Create Billions in Impact for Global Good. Finding your own support group of 4-8 friends can be a huge help. In fact, we are going to help you start your own Girls With Dreams Friendship Circle. In 2009, watch for more tips and information to help you get started. You’ll also hear from other girls who are doing the same thing!

Part of our trip included a visit to Zappos Headquarters. Zappos is the most amazing company! You find great shoes, purses, and clothes at their Web site, but more importantly, they are making the world a better place through excellent customer service! I was so impressed with them, I plan to blog more about the life lessons I learned from the core values and mission statement at Zappos.

Watch out for new videos in 2009! I hope to share more quick tips on life, beauty, dating, friends, and so much more!

Finally, I’ve been super busy finishing the manuscript for the new book, Secrets Girls Keep, expected to release in Fall 2009, published by HCI.

Keep Dreaming Big and help your friends do the same! I always love to hear from you, whether it’s a comment on the site, specific tips or advice you want to share, or topics you want us to write about!  You can reach us at info@girlswithdreams.com.

Bad (Boy) Timing

Boys. Have you ever thought you found the right one and then realized you were wrong? I have gone through a number of crushes recently. Just little ones, but still meaningful.

I always seem to have a timing issue! When I like someone, they either don’t like me back, don’t want a relationship, or are dating someone else. Has this ever happened to you? Go figure, right?

What dating advice do you have for finding the right boy at the right time?

Unique Gift Ideas for the Holidays

With December flying by, the pressure is on to find good gifts! Here are a few I came across that are a little different. I hope this helps your holiday shopping! Let us know your favorite gift ideas!

Are you and your group of friends looking to chip in on a gift for your favorite teacher? Check out www.groupcard.com.  Your can create a card and also purchase numerous gift cards together.

www.originalgood.com features fair trade and recycled products from around the world.

Help the earth by sending a card using www.arborday.org/giveatree. Every time you purchase one of these cards at $5.95 a piece, you plant a tree!

Instead of buying gifts, give back by visiting Operation Christmas Child at www.samaritanspurse.org or supporting a soldier via www.soldiersangels.org. 

Silver-Stock Gives Teens Advice in Forthcoming Book

Founder of Girls With Dreams Carrie Silver-Stock, MSW, LCSW, will publish her next book Secrets Girls Keep with Health Communications, Inc. The well-known company published the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Secrets Girls Keep is a must-have survival guide for teen girls. The book includes advice from other girls as well as fun quizzes and the seven tips every girls needs to know to create her best life. Silver-Stock covers all the hot topics teen girls want to know about, from boys to beauty to dealing with friends.

Secrets Girls Keep is expected for release in Fall 2009 by HCI.