Posted by Kara Norman on January 14, 2009 at 6:36am
I'm so excited I was nominated as Super EMWoman of the week one of my favorite social networks!!!Direct Link to article: SuperEMWoman of the Week: Kara NormanFeatured Article
SUPER EMwomen are ordinary women who demonstrate extraordinary boldness or courage in helping others within their community.Introducing: Kara Norman, this week's Super EMwoman of the Week and the new group moderator of EMwomen's new "all girls" group, EMgirls, dedicated to teen and pre-teen girls with a passion to change the world.In here own words, hear why Kara is the perfect fit for EMgirls and Our Super EMwoman of the Week!__________________________________________________________________Hi Everyone,My name is Kara Norman and I was so elated and honored when I was asked to moderate EMGirls. I have such a passion to see young girls empowered and equipped as the leaders of tomorrow and this social network is destined to make that come true in so many lives.My strong desires to empower and enrich the lives of pre-teen and teen girls started mostly as a young girl when I struggled with self-esteem and had deep rooted self-worth issues.Growing up, I lived in a home where accolades, verbal support, hope-filled words, positive thoughts, and a feeling of being loved was not present. The negativity of my childhood and desperate desire to feel loved and appreciated left me with deep rooted pain and a lack of self confidence. I was a good student, but because of struggles at home, I was never encouraged, or told that my life had any real potential. Over time, I began to believe the same.I never chose to participate in extra-curricular activities or try new things growing up, because the thoughts I had of myself were so negative. I took those same struggles into college and ended up dropping out, getting married, and becoming a mother.Somehow, I thought marriage and family would make things better. This new chapter in my life, however, opened up even more wounds, as I was suddenly faced with new responsibilities of marriage and motherhood that only deepened my awareness of how much healing I really needed.As I looked into the faces of my two precious daughters, I realized that I had a choice.I could repeat the patterns of my mother, or I could choose to live a different life. I could choose, in one moment, to redefine my future. With a passion to live, love, and lead differently and give my daughters the inspiration, support, and love I never felt as a child, I decided to do something out of the norm for me. I decided to “learn” how to love again.Like Staci Wallace says, “You can’t change the world around you, until you change the world within you.” I was determined to change from the inside out and education became that key to unlock my greatness.I returned to college and completed my degree, finishing something that, only a few years prior, I quit due to my own lack of confidence. And I didn’t just finish, I received a bachelor’s of science degree in psychology and graduated summa cum laude, all the while managing to sustain a passionate marriage and be mommy to two young girls.During my studies, I chose to focus on women issues and gained valuable knowledge about the many challenges girls and women face today. Our country is in need for social change and my new education was giving me the passion to be a part of the solution.I have served as a volunteer for several women’s organizations including The Women’s Center, a resource center for women and their families in Virginia, Caminar Latino, Inc., a domestic violence research program and agency for Latino families/women, and the Atlanta Women’s Foundation an organization that provides funding for issues concerning girls and women.All of these experiences over my life have fueled a passion to truly inspire, enrich, empower and change the lives of our girls,who will be our future leaders of tomorrow. With today’s cultural and media influences, the exploitation of girls, the unfiltered social networks, and the many temptations bombarding girls today, it has never been a better time or more important time for EMgirls to emerge as an alternative place of influence and leadership for girls and young women.As the co-founder and director of a local empowerment group for pre-teen and teen girls in the Atlanta area, Jewels and G.E.M.S-Girls Empowered By Morals and Standards, I see the tremendous impact that positive supportive environments have on girls everyday.Being exposed to positive role models/peers, enrichment workshops, mentors, cultural and educational programs, girls groups, and online communities like EMGirls, young women and girls have the chance at a better tomorrow.I am so excited to bring my knowledge, ideas, passion, creativity, enthusiasm and experience as a young mother, to EMgirls to help it be an effective place to empower girls to utilize their strengths and improve upon their weaknesses in order to achieve their goals and become ‘EMpowered’ women of tomorrow!
Comments