I started learning how to drive in February and 3 week’s ago I finally passed my test. I say finally as it was my fifth attempt but hey, I got there in the end. This week I have seen the freedom it’s given me and I’ve been able to nip to the coast and other places just because I fancied it; no working out bus and train routes or worrying about sticking to a time table, I just got in the car and off we went!

I wanted to drive so that I wasn’t always so dependent on my husband to ferry us about and I knew there would come a time, as there have been many in the past, where we wouldn’t be able to do something if I didn’t have my license. That time has come and at the weekend I am going to, gulp, drive myself and the children to Lulworth Castle in Dorset for a weekend of camping at Camp Bestival. My husband can’t make it due to work commitments and now, we don’t have to miss out. It does mean though that I have to drive all that way, on the motorway, on my own… Then, when we get there I am going to have to put up a tent, on my own. No man to rely on for the driving and heavy work. Just me. A girl. And I’m going to do it #LikeAGirl!

Just because I don’t have a man with me doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go and even though I’m nervous (terrified) for the drive and apprehensive (freaking out) about getting the tent up, I know that I can do it and I shouldn’t use being a girl for a reason to think I can’t! The New Always® #LikeAGirl Unstoppable Video Reveals How Societal Expectations Can Hold Girls Back; I don’t want to be one of them. I want to embrace being a girl who well and truly CAN and get over my fears to make sure we have an amazing weekend of fun!

Have you seen the video? It’s inspiring, take a look!

 “Girls can’t be brave” and “girls aren’t strong” are limiting phrases seemingly from a bygone era, but a new Always social experiment reveals that many girls today feel limited by society’s expectations of women. In fact, data from the most recent Always Confidence & Puberty Survey*, shows that 66 percent of girls feel held back by society, which they believe dictates what they should, and shouldn’t do. Now, Always, the global leading feminine care brand, has launched this video entitled “Always #LikeAGirl Unstoppable.” I think it’s FANTASTIC!

The new research from the Always Confidence study shows:

• 84% of UK girls who felt society puts girls into boxes said it had a negative impact on their lives
• Almost all girls (88 percent) feel there is pressure for girls to conform to the way a girl is supposed to feel and act.
• 59% of girls lose confidence at puberty. Many never fully recover.
• The vast majority of girls (69 percent) who believe society puts girls in boxes believe that if society stopped pressuring girls they would be more confidence.
• Girls are almost twice as likely as boys to say they did not feel comfortable doing an activity in school because of their gender.

To create this new video, Always partnered with award-winning documentary filmmaker Lauren Greenfield, director of the Always #LikeAGirl viral video that launched last summer. It highlights how society’s expectations have a profound impact on girls’ confidence, especially when they enter puberty. Girls and women of varying ages and backgrounds were asked if they were ever told they should or shouldn’t do something because they’re a girl. I was really surprised by the answers they gave, especially the really little girls. We just shouldn’t feel like this!

With the new “Always Unstoppable #LikeAGirl” video comes the next phase of the Always #LikeAGirl campaign: the creation of the Always Global Confidence Teaching Curriculum, a program that will benefit millions of girls around the world. The new confidence teaching curriculum, incorporating the latest research on confidence building, is being co-developed by Always, education thought leaders and experts. The confidence curriculum will be added to Always’ existing Puberty Education Programme, building on their existing 30 years of experience of puberty education in schools and reaching up to 20 million girls in 65 countries per year.

Additionally, TED, the non-profit organization devoted to spreading ideas, has committed to support Always in teaching confidence to young girls. In this first-of-its-kind partnership, Always and TED will develop and spread confidence-inspiring content through TED-Ed, a leading educational platform spreading lessons worth sharing.

“In the spirit of TED’s mission, ideas worth spreading, we are partnering with the #LikeAGirl campaign to reach young girls at a critical stage in their lives,” said Stephanie Lo, TED-Ed Programs Director at TED. “We’re excited to work with Always on developing engaging educational content to help girls around the world maintain confidence through puberty and beyond.”

The new #LikeAGirl video and confidence education efforts was during a series of nine Always #LikeAGirl Confidence Summits held around the world in twenty four hours, including London. The New York Summit featured a keynote address from international teen actress and female empowerment advocate Maisie Williams, the 18-year-old star who plays Arya Stark on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Williams serves as an inspiring role model to girls everywhere and has joined Always to spread the word about the #LikeAGirl mission.

“I believe it’s important for young women to feel supported and motivated to pursue their passions,” says Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams. “I applaud the work that Always is doing and am proud to join them in empowering girls to be confident and unstoppable #LikeAGirl.”

So… I’ve enough incentive! I can be unstoppable too and this weekend I’m going to prove it! Like a girl I’m driving solo to Dorset, like a girl I’m putting up a 4 man tent on my own, like a girl I will look after the children, entertain them and keep us all safe for the whole weekend and then like a girl I shall pack up and take us home again!

I’m empowered! I’m doing this! I’ll tell you all about it when I get back but thanks Always for giving me the confidence I need to be brave, just #LikeAGirl!

In association with Always.

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