Thursday, January 10, 2008

TOMGIRLZ TOO THURSDAY: RACHEL RAY, MAKING MORE THAN GOOD FOOD

There are so many amazing Tomgirlz out there, I didn't realize how hard it would be to highlight just one person each week! I had many considerations for today, but decided to go with RACHEL RAY.

I always liked Rachel Ray, but was truly first impressed when I watched an episode of her TV show. She had a young boy as her guest and he really put down cooking, saying it was for girls. Rachel put the boy together with a celebrity male chef and they spent some time together talking and cooking. I forget what kind of food they made, but to me the importance was in the magic that was made. The boy smiled, enjoyed, and now believes that cooking is for everyone!

Rachel Ray is not without her critics, but she refuses to change who she is based on the views of others. This is what really makes her a role model TOMGIRL. Her success comes from just being herself and not trying to fit the mold of others. Way to go!
My mom can't cook at all (well, at least not to the point that the food tastes good!), but Rachel has taught me that cooking is about so much more than just the food. It is about bringing people together, it is about sharing experiences, creating a mood, and connecting with one another.

Food is a recurring theme in the Tomgirlz chapter books. There are many restaurant scenes, food fights, and the book titiled TOMGIRLZ A,B,SEA! is all about the tomgirlz creating mush cup cookies!! In fact, Rachel Ray even makes an appearance in that book. She is on the same cruise with me and my friends and we actually get to meet her!

Rach is definitely one of our tomgirlz. She has a fearless can do spirit that is infectious and she is anxious to share it with everyone. And look at her success in sharing!... She has numerous cook books in publication, a wonderful magazine, and her TV show is now in its second season. Way to go Rach! Even if we don't learn much about cooking (sorry Rach, I could watch you forever and remain a terrible cook), we should all be able to learn a little about living life from Rachel Ray. Above all, the fact that if you take a dream and add some ingredients like action and perseverence, you can make your dreams come true.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

THURSDAY TOMGILRZ TOO: HILLARY CLINTON

A television interview of Bill Clinton became very interesting when he was questioned about his feelings towards Elizabeth Edwards’ attacks against Hillary Clinton concerning her run for the White House. Mrs. Edwards was very critical about Hillary’s role for women and said she was behaving like a man.

No one directly involved in Hillary Clinton’s campaign made a response to Elizabeth Edwards’ statement, but Bill Clinton’s response was as follows… “She’s not acting like a man; she’s behaving like a leader.”

In one very short perfect sentence, Bill Clinton showed an incredible understanding of how women, as well as our young girls, ought to be treated in this world. Why should a woman being strong and effective mean she is man-like? Why should a young girl who likes to catch bugs, jump in puddles, and is smart on the ball field mean she is boy-like?

My belief is that most young girls possess great strengths and leadership abilities and have what it takes to grow into successful women who benefit our communities. Unfortunately, attitudes such as those expressed in Elizabeth Edwards’ statements are damaging for young girls. Hearing attitudes like that early in life can cause girls to subconsciously hold themselves back and not become all that they are capable of.

Just like Hillary Clinton is behaving like a wonderful role model for our young girls, the Tomgirlz also strive to be good role models. Our chapter books were created in response to the negative tom-boy versus girlie girl labeling girls are faced with every day. Ideally, this should be a world where all girls fit and are valued for who they are. All girls are welcome under the tomgirlz label which basically stands for being yourself; there is no longer any need for a girl to try to fit a label that someone else would like to stick her in. Unfortunately, as we have seen, it is often girls who are the meanest to other girls and they grow up to be women who are unsupportive of each other.

The Tomgirlz are about character building by teaching girls to be supportive and respectful of their peers and community. We are about self respect, being cool and funky without being provocative, being independent and competitive while building others up instead of tearing them down or being mean, and promoting genuine good attitude and love of life. All of these positive messages are demonstrated through very funny stories which hopefully will also help foster a love of reading.

Thank you Hillary Clinton for your TOMGIRLZ attitude. We need more statements like when you said in a recent debate, "I'm not playing the gendar card, I'm playing the winning card."