Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

The ones who were told, “No, you can’t.”

The ones who were taunted and terrorized at every turn. The ones who were told that they were too fat, or too skinny, or too pretty, or ugly. The ones who were told that they were not smart enough or too smart for their own good. The ones who were told to stay in their lane, or stay quiet, or pretend like they didn’t know the answer when, in fact, they did.

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

The ones who tuned out the noise, the chatter, and the chorus of “no.” The ones who were able to mute the whispers of lies that told them that they were not good enough – so that they could hear the little voice inside of them that said, “you can.”

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

The ones who were able to rise above the mess and the heartache. The ones who were told what they could or could not do with their own bodies – but found a way to claim their rights, anyway—the ones who told the world that they are not to be bought or to be owned.

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

The ones who continue to soar to great heights, despite the ones around them trying to clip their wings. The ones who didn’t give up on dreams, but instead, persisted – and persevered.

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

You are the doctors, the lawyers, the teachers. You are the mothers, the wives, the girlfriends. You are the artists, the writers, the thinkers, and do-gooders. You are the poets, the architects, the designers, and the judges. You are the engineers, the businesswomen, the change-makers. You are the ones who now sit at tables that never put out a chair for you. You are the things that we have yet to dream of – but you are the ones who will make those dreams a reality.

You are the hope of the women who live within you – your ancestors who fought and dared to dream beyond what they were given.

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

You are more than one thing.

You have always been more than one thing.