Memories of Girlhood
This project began as a blog prompt for our Junior Girls: “Write about a moment in your life. Reflect on it. What did it mean then, vs. what does it mean now? How did it change your life or relationships with others? Is it something many girls experience, or not a lot?”
In 2023, we revived the prompt and opened it to community submissions. Realizing that very little oral history work was being done on girlhood, we aim to utilize our blog as a means to collect short histories – “Memories” – of girlhood worldwide. These memories showcase the unique experience of individual girls in our world today, while prompting us to wonder, are our experiences and concerns so different from one another?
Memories of Girlhood: Dance Class
As a little girl, I dreamed of being a ballerina. I loved the fluffy pink tutus, sparkles, and the idea of gracefully leaping through the air. Even my favorite books were about ballet: Best Friends Wear Pink Tutus and All Tutus Should be Pink. Lucky for me, I got an...
Memories of Girlhood: The Hunt for Pirate Treasure
My days used to be spent on the York River, basking in the sun and swimming in the salty water. Virginia summers were free and glorious, full of potential. One morning, I found a book in my father's library called Pirates on the Chesapeake; from that morning on, my...
Memories of Girlhood: Volunteering
I started volunteering when I was a young girl, and to this day, I love it. Volunteering your time and skills can bring so much joy to others and, in doing so, joy to you. My first volunteer job was with my Girl Scout troop: visiting senior citizens, caroling for...
Memories of Girlhood: Life Lessons from Kato
There is a stretch of road in my hometown that used to be a dense forest which is now lined with hideous townhouses. Whenever I go by there, I am transported back to being 6 years old. It was in this hundred acre wood that I discovered what it was to discover, to be...
Memories of Girlhood: Getting Ready for Christmas
Christmas is my favorite holiday. It's more than Santa and presents and food, though: it's about coming together to share in something that makes everyone feel good. It's about charity and kindness, about making the world a little bit better of a place‚ even if just...
Memories of Girlhood: Sledding in Scappoose
As the nights get darker and Thanksgiving approaches, my thoughts have been turning more and more toward my family and my childhood. As an only child, I spent a fair bit of time with my grandparents in Scappoose, Oregon during school holidays, giving my parents a much...
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Memories of Girlhood: Ice Skating Sundays
Young girl ice skating. http://bit.ly/18WfzxA There are many moments I can draw out of the childhood memory box, but I will choose the few, though special, times at the ice skating rink. It was not a frequent pastime, rather an occasional stroll along with my father...
Memories of Girlhood: Growing Giant Pumpkins
Hillary and her brother, with some not-so-giant pumpkins grown in their garden. Photo courtesy of author. One of my favorite things about summer vacation was always gardening. Sometime in May each year we would start sprouting pumpkins seeds in the house, and I knew...
Memories of Girlhood: Point Horror Books
Image from https://www.carolinebcooneybooks.com/index.html Freeze Tag. The Babysitter. Teacher's Pet. For a lot of people of my generation, those words may well sound familiar: they are titles from Scholastic's Point Horror range of horror stories for young adults....
Memories of Girlhood: Barbies
Image from https://dollsmagazine.com/60-years-of-struggle-barbies-careers-are-timeline-of-womens-hits-and-misses/ Barbie: My Love-Hate Relationship with a Doll When I was little, I loved playing with Barbie dolls. My fondest memories of my sister include spending...
Memories of Girlhood: Secret Forts
Photo from http://poemsandnovels.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/ta-da-our-blanket-fort.html Building a fort is a favorite childhood pastime. Forts come in all shapes and sizes, from living room blanket forts to backyard tree houses. As a little girl, I loved playing in forts....
Memories of Girlhood: Grandmothers and Love
Grandmother's Helper, 1899. Painting by Harry Herman Roseland. https://iamachild.wordpress.com/category/roseland-harry/ I owe a lot to my grandmothers. They each taught me something about how to love and enjoy life. My mother's mom taught me what it means to love....
Memories of Girlhood: The Grandpa Figure
From the author's personal collection. According to a notable archaeologist, "Our childhood memories constitute our own personal archaeology." I for one am totally on board with this saying; digging in the past is utterly meaningful and revealing as regards the...
Memories of Girlhood: Camping in Scotland
Junior Girl Sarah and her dad (and the top of her sister's head) on holiday in Scotland in the early 90s. When I was a girl, many of my friends went on holidays abroad whilst my family stayed in the UK. I can't remember being specifically jealous that they were...
Memories of Girlhood: Doing the Snow Dance
http://www.workitmom.com/bloggers/workitmom/2008/01/15/a-snow-day-almost-ruined-by-a-multi-tasking-working-mom/ Growing up in Michigan, snow and ice storms could be expected at any time from late October through April. For many people, these storms mean inconvenience:...
Memories of Girlhood: Mathematical Aptitudes and Attitudes
Does the gender gap in math still exist? http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860289_1859823_1859830,00.html I'm a straight-up humanities gal. I discreetly pull out my phone to calculate taxi tips. I'm not proud of this fact, and it's one I'd...