When we were kids, many of us dreamt of being a princess. Today, more and more girls dream about being Spider-Man, The President, or even a football player. But if you’re Alicia Woollcott from Grand Blanc High School, you’re both: a linebacker and a homecoming queen. You aren’t afraid to wear a helmet and a crown.
That’s right. This beautiful blonde from one of our own neighborhoods tackles guys and wears a crown – on the same night. A few Friday nights ago, the teenagers of Grand Blanc High School voted Alicia to represent the young women of their school. They voted for a girl who can do it all, smiling the whole time.
As a mother, I can’t think of many more things more promising for my own daughter. Society is changing, folks. Girls don’t just have to be “tomboys” or “girly-girls.” They don’t have to be labeled and fit into one category and one category only. Alicia gives me optimism that our daughters can wear ballet slippers and soccer cleats. They can be a super heroine and dominate in the classroom. They can do whatever they want to do and no one, or society, will stop them.
Alicia is more than a pretty face in a football uniform, however. She is a captain on the school’s powerlifting team and took third place in last year’s state tournament squatting 300 pounds, deadlifting 335, and bench pressing 175. And Alicia’s resume doesn’t stop there. She’s also a master at water polo and a competitive cheerleader*. To say that she’s strong would be a colossal understatement. But her strength doesn’t stay on the football field or in the weight room.
It takes guts to step into a man’s world. Not only does she do it with grace, but she does it in pink – admitting that she loves being girly. Her courage has not gone unnoticed, either. She was recently invited by The Today Show to chat about her gender-breaking lifestyle, which comes so effortlessly to her.
Yes, moms. There are a lot of negative things out there right now in the news regarding women and the futures of our daughters. But, be positive. Things are changing. And although it may look like a war zone right now, we need to keep fighting. Believe that our daughters will able to live confidently in a man’s world – no, in a people’s world. Alicia Woollcott is proof.
*The facts regarding Alicia were from the Detroit Free Press. The entire article can be found here.
