I take so many things in my life for granted. 

       The air I breath, the water I drink, the fact I never have to worry about where my next meal is coming from. You grew up on the Ark a ruthless place filled with stale air and rough people. You didn't get to experience Earth until you were sent here to pretty much die. And since then that's exactly what you've been trying to avoid. You are brave and kind and like Lexa said, a leader to fight for. You helped keep your people alive, even if that meant getting put in harms way, or giving up bits and pieces leaving you a little bloody and a little broken. I'm lucky. I got to have a childhood. I got a chance to be a kid and run around, be crazy, play pretend, not have a care in the world. I might have grown up too fast, but I never had the weight of countless lives on my shoulders.

        You know there's a part in a letter where you ask the other person how life is, how they are holding up. I already know the answer to both. You are afraid, anxious, worried about the war. Maybe even thinking about what to do about Lexa. Because underneath it all you're still a teenager, you're still allowed to think about things that may seem small at a time when spears and stuff are being shot at you. Everyone in your life is about to go into war, so i'm guessing they are also scared, and anxious. I can't help but think of what Bellamy said while back, "Who we are, and who we need to be to survive are very different things". There was a lot of sacrifice, particularly on your part to get to this point, to be able to win this war. I want to say something really cliche like it'll get better, you'll be stronger for it. And while they may be true I feel like you deserve more than an "it's okay" after what you've been through.

        You're one years older than me yet you are so much wiser and stronger than I could ever hope to be. You never asked to be a leader, but perhaps that's what makes you such a good one. You said recently that life should be about more than surviving. Amazing how things like war can put life into perspective. How frail and ephemeral it all is. You've been living in a perpetual state of war, fighting the grounders, fighting to live, and now a new war is here. I hope you find something that makes you happy because at the end of all the craziness, the battles, and the the gory moments of life, you want happiness. So if you find it I say hold on to it. 

        I wrote this this in math class. I mean who needs Calculus anyways? You would be in school right now. Maybe you'd be in college, trying to become a doctor like your mom. Instead you are making decisions that make you out to be ruthless while trying to save your people. I think you are bad-ass. Strange how in this world we still can't quite stomach equality between men and women, yet in yours there is equality and the chance for strong bad-ass women to be leaders. I guess what i'm trying to say is that you are someone we can look up to, respect. 

       The world today is crazy. The world you live in is even more so. Yet the battles seem to be similar sometimes. We all fight for love, hope we can find a friend we can rely on 24/7. We look for the happy moments in life. We try to do more than survive, we try to find reasons to live for and then proceed to try and be alive. It's nice to be able to relate to you. It's nice to see someone be so strong and move forward. So keep being a bad-ass.

Love,

Top Ten Fictional Heroines

I'm super excited about this week's Top Ten Tuesday. Right now we need role models of strong women in our society that seems pretty set on being sexist. As a feminist I think it's important to have women be in strong roles that are available to everyone. I think it's awesome to read a book with a bad-ass female character. or see a show where women are portrayed as strong and capable. So here's my list of bad-ass, amazing, strong heroines!

1. Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. I love Hermione, she's amazing, strong, and capable. I love to be her best friend. The reason I picked her as my number one is because she's smart and she's the reason the Harry Potter and Ron survive any of the numerous problems they encounter. Hermione is strong. When Ron left, she stuck with Harry, She might not be the type of girl to get into fights or make a scene,instead she's strong and awesome in a quieter way, but none the less pretty bad-ass. I mean one of my favorite scenes is when she punches Draco Malfoy.

2. Clarke Griffin from The 100. I read the book and loved her. I watch the show and she's even MORE amazing. If you aren't watching this show, you are doing a disservice to yourself. Anyways... Clarke is honestly amazing. She's only two years older than me and is thrust into a new world into a war she never wanted. She has to navigate and often time sacrifice bits and pieces of her to win the war. I honestly respect her so much. She's also kind, and sweet, and always willing to do right by the people she loves. 

3. Regina from Once Upon a Time. She's one of my favorite characters and she's also one of the most bad-ass on the show. She kind of is this force of nature. Sometimes she could be evil and sometimes she was just beautiful and strong. No matter what life has thrown her way she has grown and become a better person while becoming a bastion of strength for a lot for a lot of the characters on the show. 

4. Kasta from Graceling. All her life she has been misjudged and ostracized and treated terribly. Yet she over comes everything to see the good in herself and even other people. She's also a great fighter, a master with any weapon, and overall bad-ass. 

5. Tris Prior from Divergent. Because I mean come on she's just fucking amazing. Like she's bad-ass, awesome and just like Clarke she's willing to do what it takes to win the war and protect her loved ones. She's overcome so much it's hard to not see her as this pillar of awesomeness and strength.

6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She's just awesome. I wish I could be as bad ass as her!

7. Mary from Reign. I mean being a queen is hard work. I love her so much. I love how she's putting others first and how now she's done being a ploy and a chess piece. In a time that is much harsher to women than men, I love how Mary always is independent, regal, and strong

.

8. Hazel Grace Lancaster from The Fault in Our Stars. Strength is more than just a physical thing, it's also a mental and emotional thing. Hazel might not be physically strong and be able to take down anyone, be she is filled with strength and capability beyond what normal people have. She faces death and she's okay with that. There's something to be said about her strength in the face of everything she's gone through.

9. Tally Youngblood from The Uglies Series.This girl has bounced back from everything. She's not an awesome person, she's a revolutionary. I love her because she's flawed yet always willing to fix the messes she makes for herself. She's exceptionally smart and strong in both the mental way and the physical way. 

10. Lilo from Lilo and Stitch. This is probably my favorite Disney movie. I will admit it has made me cry, it still makes me cry, I mean how can you not be upset when Stitch takes the story book stands in the middle of the woods saying "I'm lost" so that his family will find him? Anyways... I love Lilo she's weird and quirky but oh so amazing. She's different and doesn't have very many friends but she doesn't let that stop her from doing things that make her happy. I honestly love her so much.

Don't Forget to enter my giveaway! Happy Tuesday

DFTBA,