Women who inspire

Even in spite of our current political climate, I definitely think this past year has been triumphant for women. You'd never think speaking out and telling your truth would be difficult, but this year so many people, men and women, spoke up and told their stories. Women everywhere are finally being recognized for their strength and power and, in return, men are finally being called out for abusing their strength and power. We still have a long way to go as a society, but I think the right topics are finally starting to be talked about which is a great start.

To continue the theme of celebrating women and in honor of International Women's Day, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to list some incredible females who inspire me daily.



Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn just oozes inspiration. Whether it's the roles she played or the humanitarian she was, it's all awe-inspiring. I can't help but look back at her life at the strong, beautiful woman she was and be envious, but in the best way. She was elegant and charitable and everything I hope to be when I look back at my own life.
Unicef Audrey Hepburn Society

Malala Yousafzai
Malala is another strong woman whose presence alone is inspiring. Her story and everything that she has survived, all for the right of education, is incredible. Her story is a reminder of what horrors exist out there in the world and her survival is a reminder that we can overcome those horrors and thrive.
Malala Fund and Malala's Twitter

Tanya Burr
I've watched Tanya's Youtube channel for around 6 years now. That would mean I watched her videos from the ages of 17-23. That little age gap is a huge period of self discovery and I think Tanya influenced me in the best way possible. She's never been afraid to speak her mind on topics not many youtubers talk about, especially when it comes to girls. She just radiates positivity and I love it.
Tanya's Youtube & Blog

Olivia Purvis
Olivia (aka WhatOliviaDid) is definitely one my favorite bloggers. You can tell she is passionate about her personal style, her job, and the content she creates and, in return, that passion definitely shows. I admire that passion.
Olivia's Youtube & Blog

Leanne Lauricella
Leanne Lauricella is the founder of Goats of Anarchy - a nonprofit goat rescue in New Jersey. She quit her day job in order to take in disabled and special-needs goats full time. That alone is commendable... but just keeping up to date with the Goats of Anarchy Instagram, you can see her passion grow daily. She fights for animals rights by using her online following and I can't even express how much that inspires me to do more, even if I don't have a quarter of her social following or personal strength. 
Goats of Anarchy & Instagram

Oprah Winfrey
I almost didn't add Oprah to this list because I thought she would most definitely be on everyone's Inspirational Women list and I don't like being unoriginal... but then I realized there's a reason she would be on everyone's list. Because she's amazing. This year has been incredible for women using their voices, and Oprah's Golden Globes speech definitely solidified that. 
Oprah's Twitter & Instagram

Emma Watson
Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and the strong and intelligent person that character symbolized alone is enough to be added to this list, but Emma Watson as herself is even better. She took the negative stigma away from the word "feminism" with her HeForShe campaign and, for that, she can't be thanked enough. 
HeForShe and Emma's Twitter & Instagram

Duan Mackenzie
Duan is someone I've discovered on Youtube only recently (and by recently, I mean about a year ago) but she inspires me with every single video she creates so I knew I had to add her to this list. Like Tanya, Duan definitely radiates positivity. If I feel I need a little bit of inspiration or motivation, I go directly to Duan's channel. 
Duan's Youtube & Instagram