#GirlLove

Today I watched a video from YouTube’s Lilly Singh (aka Superwoman). Lilly explained how ‘Girl on Girl hate’ is too popular in our society. Despite the fact that we are all women and we all go through periods, puberty and some go through childbirth and relationships, we tend to treat life like a competition.

Jealousy fuels bitchy arguments and we end up calling each other sluts and whores just because of a clothing choice, or how many times we’ve had sex. Ever watched the movie Mean Girls? You’ll know exactly what I mean.

Anyway, the point of the video was to try and spread some awareness of how we can all be kind to one another without feeling jealous and making each other our worst enemies. I could relate to the video so much – in secondary school I was the victim of Girl-on-girl hate in Year 7/8. I was the outcast, who wore the proper school trousers when all the other girls were wearing ‘fashionable’ skinny trousers and I was the only one who was obsessed with JLS. Some girls used to tear me to shreds over these two things – but I thought I was cool, because I was different. They made me feel like I should be a certain type of girl with certain hobbies and music tastes, in order to fit in. It scrapped any self esteem I had. I wish I had done something about it sooner and I wish I had realised that what they were saying was complete rubbish. They had no place to tell me what kind of music I should like or what trousers I should wear.

This is why this campaign is so great; there are so many amazing inspirational women out there who have achieved incredible things. Yet, we still feel like we should compare ourselves to one another. There’s still so much pressure on women to look good, to have a certain dress size and to be a certain type of person. Why can’t we celebrate our achievements instead of calling another girl ‘ugly’ just because she decides not to follow the crowd?

Thinking about the women who I admire, I have to mention Helen Skelton. She has been an idol of mine for a few years and I just think she’s awesome. The fact that she had the guts to do all those incredible Blue Peter challenges to inspire kids to do cool stuff and get active is amazing. I remember just being completely in awe of her Amazon River kayak and her Namibian Desert Triple Marathon. She has such a ‘get up and go’ attitude to life and an incredible work ethic. It makes me think that Helen had a normal upbringing and went to a normal school yet she achieved all those things; so why can’t I?

I want you to spread some #GirlLove to show that you are against Girl-On-Girl hate. Go on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and compliment a woman who you admire, using the hashtag #GirlLove. Not only is it showing that you support the cause, it also makes the girl you’re complimenting feel beautiful and special. Everyone’s a winner.

Best Wishes,

L x

I'm Lydia, I'm 16 and I live in North Shropshire. I've been an Anti Bullying Ambassador for two years and work hard to prevent bullying in schools.

I also create YouTube videos to spread the Anti Bullying message in a fun and informative way. In July 2015 I was awarded with a Diana Anti Bullying Champion Award for my work.

If you would like to follow my campaign, follow me on Twitter @LydiaGreatrix or visit my YouTube channel youtube.com/c/lydiagreatrix. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any enquiries by emailing Lydia.greatrix@gmail.com. To find out more about becoming an Anti Bullying Ambassador, visit www.antibullyingpro.com.