Last year,  She’s the First Poetry Month at the Young Women’s Leadership School spun off into summer camp! Teens created an anthology in three weeks with spoken word poet Azure Antoinette, who is also the host of this year’s campaign. Below is a wonderful submission from a student last year:  Writing Prompt: “If the world were my classroom…” (the prompt of She’s the First Poetry Month!) I would show a girl how hard it is for many of us around the world. That many of these girls have already started families at the ages of 13-15. That many of them don’t have the luxury of an education. I would teach a girl that self esteem doesn’t come from a magazine or the way a boy looks at you. That it comes from the strength in believing in yourself, knowing that as a girl, you can be anything you want. I would teach a girl that boys are not that serious. Some are temporary if they aren’t best friends. Their main purpose is to cause trouble. -Melanie Caldwell

Last year,  She’s the First Poetry Month at the Young Women’s Leadership School spun off into summer camp! Teens created an anthology in three weeks with spoken word poet Azure Antoinette, who is also the host of this year’s campaign. Below is a wonderful submission from a student last year: 

Writing Prompt: “If the world were my classroom…” (the prompt of She’s the First Poetry Month!)

I would show a girl how hard it is for many of us around the world. That many of these girls have already started families at the ages of 13-15. That many of them don’t have the luxury of an education.

I would teach a girl that self esteem doesn’t come from a magazine or the way a boy looks at you. That it comes from the strength in believing in yourself, knowing that as a girl, you can be anything you want.

I would teach a girl that boys are not that serious. Some are temporary if they aren’t best friends. Their main purpose is to cause trouble.

-Melanie Caldwell

(via extremelybeautiful)