One :-
Rebellion is not a trend. Rebellion is not a mindless breaking of rules for no particular cause. That is suburban teenage recklessness, not rebellion. Rebellion is a sudden realization of the fact that you do not deserve to be ignored.
It is realizing that you do not deserve to be treated with indifference for being yourself, for being a certain way that does not necessarily collaborate with the beliefs of another person. It is always sparked by a thought, when instead of dismissing it, you actually let yourself entertain the notion that the truths you have been fed, the norms that have been relentlessly retold by the society, may not necessarily be true. It is that thought that has sparked the greatest rebellions of our time, making the world what it is today, a more free, less prejudiced place than before.
Which brings me to two:
the first female rebellion was a riot. It occurred on the streets of British Nigeria in 1929, with thousands of women marching from city to city, demanding lower taxes and a wider participation of women in the government. That day, that entire nation was shocked. They were shocked that even after reiterating all that they had, women were out on the streets by the thousands vandalizing cities to an extent that it wasn't until sunset that they could gather enough men to crush the revolt, a revolt of women ready to crush the batons or get crushed under them. They wouldn't tell you this, but that night we won. Taxes were lowered and women replaced Warrant chiefs who were forced to resign.
Which brings me to three, remember all those legends that the society has fed you? We have the potential to shake the very foundations on which they stand as they tell us who we should and should not be, what we should and should not wear, how we should and should not speak.
Which reminds me of four, remember that girl who shamed you for wearing camo pants to class? Yes, well her instagram bio says #feminist. So it turns out people can wear slogans on their shirts or slap colours on their cheeks or tell tales of their open mindedness in group discussions and still hate you for the colour of your skin, or the inappropriateness of your gender or simply none of the above.
Five, these people don't matter.
Six, their opinions don't matter.
Seven, don't waste time trying to please them because you can't.
Eight, still there are girls out there who hate other girls for being born in a way that the society finds acceptable, for being born too pretty. The society has failed us. It has taught us to hate ourselves and each other for so long that we have forgotten to live in a place with no hate. How to live without hating ourself. It is pompous to say "I'm pretty" because after all, "you don't know you're beautiful, that's what makes you beautiful". No it doesn't. It makes you insecure and less confident. It makes you bury yourself in layers of makeup so deep that you don't even look like yourself anymore. Stop being too hard on yourself. You are not perfect and you don't need to be. Let yourself be liked for who you are and what you have achieved.
Which brings me to nine, be opinionated. Playing dumb and laughing about not knowing something does not make you look cute. It makes you look stupid and ignorant. You need to learn to decide who you allow to come in power depends upon your opinion on things, your own speculation, your own views, not blind popular passions.
You are allowed to be angry, at how the issues that matter, pollution that is straight out killing Indian citizens and taking away 2 years of your life, health care that nobody seems to get, the toxic education system stealing childhoods, the reservation system spreading inequality in the name of empowering a particular community. You are allowed to be angry, so angry it scalds your bones and makes you yell till your lungs give out, because guess what? When the masses roar, they drown the mic.
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