In my past 20 years of interaction with girls across the world I have found that girls live in fear and anxiety while growing up.

If we don't think that men and boys are part of the solution in this battle for gender equality for the balance between who we are as humans, we're undermining their minds and their spirits. They need to be part of the equation.

So, obviously, on International Women's Day, we are honoring the achievements of women, but gender equality and feminism cannot evolve in our humanity if we're not bringing our boys and men along.

Women's empowerment for me means knowing your rights, having the facts, knowing the truth about what is happening out there, here in our own country and the condition of women throughout the world.

It's so daunting to walk into a classroom or a school auditorium. It's like the world's weirdest blind date. I know all the students are thinking, 'Who is this tool standing up in front of us?'

Too many younger people seem to prefer following celebrities instead of doing the work required to get an education that will someday lead to a job. If students today spent as much time on math and science and history as they do following these shallow celebrities, they might actually become contributors to society someday.

School is something that you learn - reading and writing. Education is what you learn from the family, from the environment, from the community.

I hope I've been able to show other young girls that as long as you work hard and you're committed to fight for your education, that anything's possible.