girlhood.

For years we have heard of girls preparing for "hot girl summer". Women across the globe have been fighting for centuries to be treated and paid the same as their male counterparts. And girls have been forming strong and deep bonds with their "besties" for millennia in the most beautiful example of human connection. While I have always loved and enjoyed being a girl and considered myself lucky to get to experience girlhood, this summer has been nothing short of healing for many girls around the world.

Last summer the Supreme Court of the United States took away the right to choose for millions of women, we are still being paid only 82¢ to the man's dollar, and are constantly advocating for our place as whole people in a patriarchal society. These battles have been consistent for decades and will continue into the foreseeable future, but I saw a glimmer of hope and healing this summer in the most unexpected but magical and almost divine way.

The two main reasons why this summer has been the summer of the girl you ask? The Barbie movie and Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour.

Let's start with Taylor Swift; my queen, the music industry, and the epitome of all that is good and heartbreaking and bittersweet about girlhood. I have been to many, many concerts in my life, ranging from Kane Brown to Pitbull to Carrie Underwood. Although those shows were very entertaining and I would see them again in a heartbeat, seeing Taylor Swift was enchanting (pun intended) in the most unforgettable way.

To start with, I have never felt so safe in a crowd before. Everyone was so kind and thoughtful; trading friendship bracelets, complimenting each other's outfits, assisting people if they needed help, videoing complete strangers proposing during Love Story. Before the show had even started, I had already felt like I was experiencing a part of history, and then Taylor appeared like a beacon from heaven and I was entranced for 3 and a half hours. (That feeling has not really gone away over a month later either...I cannot stop listening to her music.)

Like I mentioned, I have seen many live performances, but there is something about the way Taylor performs with such gratitude and appreciation for her fans that made me feel like she was performing for just me. Like she saw everyone in the huge Arrowhead Stadium and knew exactly what they needed to see and feel that July night. (Starts singing Last Kiss but messes up twice...iykyk.) I cannot accurately put into words how healing it was to hear songs that I had on my first generation iPod touch when I was 7 in the same show as songs from her most recent albums that I relate to as a 21 year old. Little Abbie was smiling at me from the past and it brings tears to my eyes knowing I made younger me proud; that is all I want in life. Taylor was simply bejeweled (also pun intended...I can't help it sorry.) Then enter Barbie.

I have never been so excited to see a movie. I was not much of a Barbie girl growing up (more of an American Girl type, unfortunately for my parents' wallet), but the Barbie movie had a way of showing me and explaining to me what I did not know I had been feeling all these years. Recognizing the importance of a woman's place in the world without downgrading the importance of a man (if you think Barbie was "man-hating", you missed the point entirely), using a pop culture icon to address current societal issues in a lighthearted and comedic way. Not only had I not been so excited to see a movie, I had never seen a movie that I thought about long after it was over. The casting was perfect, THE America Ferrera monologue (again, iykyk), the soundtrack, all joined together for a perfect movie. Little Abbie would again be so excited that I wore a shirt that said Barbie on it with a bow in my hair. That's another thing about both Taylor and Barbie, seeing all the girls get dressed up in cute and highly planned outfits was beautiful.

In addition to Taylor and Barbie, there have been TikTok trends of girls showing their appreciation for girlhood, Jonas Brothers going on tour (also excites Little Abbie because she was a HUGE Camp Rock girly and was devastated when the Jonas Brothers broke up...I am a Joe girl forever btw), and many other community building examples this summer that make it so healing for the little girls (and boys and everyone in between...they can like Taylor Swift and Barbie too) inside of us.

No matter how happy or sad our childhoods were, there is always a little piece of our younger selves that want to know how older us turned out. I can only hope Little Abbie feels a little more comforted, proud, and seen knowing that the summer of the girl was coming for her in 2023. While the battle will continue for equality as women, I have never been more thankful for girlhood than I am in this moment.

Always ~

authentic, ambitious, & aptly adventurous

(my older sister Allie and I at the Taylor Swift concert in Kansas City...thanks for surviving the great Ticketmaster war sis <3)