People say to me all the time, "You have no fear." I tell them, "No, that's not true. I'm scared all the time. You have to fear in order to have courage.

I'm a courageous person because I'm a scared person."

- Ronda Rousey

I know nothing about the MMA (mixed-martial arts)...except that I would never willingly step into a cage knowing there's a good chance it'll be the last time I see my teeth.

However, when I learned about Ronda Rousey, I was immediately intrigued by her story not only as a judoka, not only as an mixed-martial arts fighter, or even as an Olympian, but as a woman whose story is paving the way for female-empowerment in a new way.

It's a little disheartening to see that young girls look up to other female role models based solely on appearance, the level of family drama broadcasted on social-media or their latest news-headlining vacation, or what they ate for breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I love fashion just like any other gal and yes, sometimes I get sucked into clicking on that latest Yahoo article about the scoop on someone's dating life. However, the women that stand out in my mind with the story worth reading about are those who are build their lives and careers around being advocates for women to have a healthy mind-set of their bodies, women who are fighters for their hopes and dreams, women who are real with all ups and downs, women who know that their work is influencing younger generations of girls for years to come.

I love reading and even more so, reading about the lives of individuals who are helping to shape the world for other women in meaningful ways.

Check out My Fight, Your Fight by Maria Burns-Ortiz and Ronda Rousey - I highly recommend it.

#girlpower
#30daysofthanks