Louise

“To see someone move through the world as a woman feeling very comfortable saying what she thinks – perfectly beloved and polite and wonderful in every way, but say what she thinks – it was just mind-blowing to me. And all I could think was, ‘I want to be like her.’ “ – Geena Davis, on “the direct and dynamic” Susan Sarandon, while working on 1991’s film, Thelma and Louise

So, in short, Susan Sarandon was a self-assured “badass”, before the word became common vernacular.

Geena Davis also said this about Susan: “I have never spent time with a woman like her. She never puts a qualifier before what she says. If she has an idea about something, I never heard her say, ‘I don’t know what you think about this. It’s probably a good idea. It may be dumb. What do I know?’ She just says, ‘Let’s cut my line here.’ I mean that happened on the first day that I met her, and I was like, ‘Wait a minute.’ ”

Just for today, no matter what your gender is, channel your inner Susan/Louise, and just say it like you see it. You can be beloved, and polite, and wonderful, and know that your viewpoint is every bit as valid as anyone else’s on this Earth. Be confident and comfortable in your own skin – even if you have to fake it until you feel it. Grow into your confidence. Stand by your beliefs. No qualifiers are allowed. Your example won’t just be a life-changer for you, it will greatly impact the people around you and the world as we know it. No one should ever have to apologize for having a viewpoint on anything. You have a spark of brilliance, just like everyone else. Let it shine.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.