Mo'ne Davis Led Her All-Male Baseball Team To World Series

by: April D. Byrd

In this generation women are pushing through and girls are going hard. In the wake of Becky Hammons landmark advancement in the NBA, 13-year-old Mo'ne Davis from Philadelphia led her all-male Little League baseball team to the World Series by striking out six batters, the win was an 8-0 victory, and she currently pitches a 70-mph fastball.  Nuff said...the girl's good! It goes to show that women are not limited as we're sometimes led to believe. No one can tell us what we can or can't do, all that matters is having the tenacity to do it. We define our destiny and our legacy.

Girls have been allowed to play in the Little League World Series since 1974. Another girl will play in this year's series as well, Emma March of Canada's South Vancouver League. Davis and March will appear at the world series for the first time this Friday August 14th, on ESPN. This is the third time in history two girls have played in the Little League World Series at once.

Hopefully more reports of courageous female athletes will continue to spread. It's very empowering to see ladies being driven to do life on their own terms and pursue their passion disregarding the risks. The Little League World Series will air consecutively over ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC networks during the weekend. These girls do my heart good! It's definitely an event worth catching!

Way to Go Ladies!!!

Check out Mo'Ne in action in the video below:






What do you think about Davis and March playing with with the boys? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. and join the convo on Trey Anthony's Facebook Fan Page and Twitter: @aprilinspired.

Redefining The Meaning Of #LikeAGirl (Video)

by: April D. Byrd

The feminine hygiene products company Always recently created a "pantene-esque" type social awareness video to get down to the true essence of the phrase "Like A Girl". In May 2014 the brand conducted a study surveying 1,300 American women between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. The results were what we probably would have guessed already: The phrase was mostly considered demeaning, and not a lot of people had a positive association with it.

More than half of the girls surveyed in the study claimed to experience a drop in confidence at puberty. 89 percent agreed that words can be harmful (especially to girls) self-confidence. That's a rather high count. Maybe society has neglected the old "sticks and stones" adage, but the wrong words to a person with already low self-esteem can of course hurt like hell.  The truth of the matter is "Where there is no enemy within, the enemy outside cannot hurt you"...not verbally at least. This means when you know for sure who you truly are and all the light that you're created to be, you know that darkness is a non-factor because you in fact have power over it. So...it doesn't matter if the haters throw shade, they can't dim your shine.

Words are big and powerful issues, especially now in this age where everybody has a platform. We don't have to eliminate them or ban them like Sheryl Sandberg's ostracized " Ban Bossy" attempt, but we can turn them around for the better. The nature of doing anything "like a girl" a girl or woman should be emphasized in strength, because women are the very essence of it. Any media's degradation of women is a lie and a facade.

The great thing about the #LikeAGirl video is that it indeed took a turn for the better. When the actual "girls" where consulted on the issue, they gave their actions all they had. They didn't put forth light or lazy effort, but operated in true strength and substance. One little girl when asked "What does it mean to 'run like a girl?" she replied "It means run as fast as you can."

Check out the #LikeAGirl Video (below):

What do you think about the video? did you think it was funny at first as well? Share your thoughts in the comments below and follow up on the conversation with Trey Anthony on her Facebook fan page.

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April D. Byrd is a Writer, Social Media Producer, and the Creator of Breath Of Life Daily Online Journal and Praying Empress. You can connect with her on twitter @aprilinspired.