Scholarship Submission Piece on “Creative Works That Influenced Me and My Career Choice”

I’ve appreciated movies and television for as long as I can remember, playing Disney
movies on repeat throughout my childhood. As I got older, I developed a love for films and
shows that make me feel something, and give me an insight into another person’s life and
circumstances. There’s something so special about the way life can appear as art on screen.
Reading this prompt, and trying to choose one single creative work that has shaped who I am,
was extremely difficult for me. My mind was flooded with the movies and shows of my
childhood (Kim Possible, Kickin’ It, Spy Kids, Get a Clue, Princess Diaries, Miss Congeniality,
to name a few).
As I thought over all of the movies and shows that played a key role in my life as a child,
I began to see a common theme emerging: every one of the shows I loved featured a strong
female lead. These girls didn’t need anyone to save them, because they were saving themselves.
As I began to watch the movies and shows that my peers loved, I was quickly disappointed by
the actions of most people on screen that were meant to represent me. They, at best, always
needed someone’s help to get anything done, or, at worst, needed someone to save them entirely.
If the woman of the story prioritized her own career or wellbeing, she was portrayed as rude,
selfish, and unreasonable. This didn’t reflect the women in my life, or the girls I’d looked up to
in the movies and shows I loved. The women in my life are strong, powerful even, but also not
afraid to be compassionate, caring people.
During my junior year of high school, I’d all but accepted that it would take a few more
years for Hollywood to represent the reality of women. Right as I had all but given up hope, I
stumbled across the show Girlboss, inspired by the story of Sophia Amoruso, founder of the
major clothing brand Nasty Gal. The show details the early days of Amoruso’s career, when she
was behind on rent, lacking health insurance, and running out of money. She first buys a vintage
leather jacket for only $9, before selling it for $600. This sparks a chain of events where
Amorusso learns the challenges that can face women going into business, and ultimately sets out
on a journey to running a successful clothing business. This was the first show I’d found that
reflected the confidence and independence characters of my childhood showed.
Like Sophia Amoruso, I’m working towards a career in fashion as well, and I’m aware
that being a woman in business isn’t always easy. Amoruso was a driving force in my realization
that it can be done: you can be a successful woman running a business, without being rude, or
ending up lonely. The concepts in this show, and the movies and shows of my childhood, will
always stick with me. As I’ve gotten older, real women, like Sophia Amoruso, have replaced
characters as my inspiration. The people I look up to are no longer fictional, they’re real women
who face real issues, just like I do. I can only hope that as I get older, I can become as strong,
independent, and caring as the women I look up to: a girlboss.