“I’m the one on the right. With the cheeky grin and worn out knees.

The girl in this picture is brave and confident. She doesn’t mind getting dirty and she cares not for rules. There is nothing she doesn’t think she’s capable of and she chases adventure without fear. She is funny and laughs constantly and does humour and joy without any hint of self consciousness. This young girl is smart and outspoken and hasn’t learned yet that these are things she should tone down. She has a gentle and loving spirit. She lives with sadness and empathy without drowning because she knows she is strong.

But somewhere along the way she unlearned all of it. She was there, under the surface but like many of us, she allowed the words around her, and to her, to change her understanding. She bent. And twisted. She became confused. And hurt. And disconnected.

My life, I now realise has become a journey back to me. To re-learn all that I once knew. To understand my perfection, the power and the trust in my voice and my heart. And to work to ensure that all of our little girls never leave themselves.

 My journey has included a life in Miami and San Francisco. I was a dancer and student, a sales woman and a publicist. I lived a life in England, of travel and study and love. My journey brought me to Melbourne and a Masters, to media studies and work, to policy and leadership and a decade in secondary schools. I was a founder of the Women’s March on Melbourne and found a passion in advocacy for women.

I landed on the Mornington Peninsula – where I find joy in my work, community, the hunt for great food, sunshine and beaches, time with my family and cuddles with the pug. The journey remains one of adventure and challenging myself and the world around me. Most importantly though, it is returning to the little girl.

Through our celebration of International Girls’ Day I honour all of our girls – those who are coming forward now to inhabit every inch of our world with every ounce of their being and to all the girls we left behind – may we find and be them again.”

#girlsrule