My Day at the More Than a Princess Conference

This past Saturday was EVERYTHING. 🤎✨

I had the opportunity to be one of the presenters at Newport News Public Schools’ 7th Annual More Than a Princess conference at Heritage High School, and the experience was honestly such a good reminder of why I created The Brown Gals in the first place.

The theme for this year’s conference was “Authentically Me” with a message centered around knowing yourself, loving yourself, and being yourself.

So when I was given the opportunity to create a workshop for the girls, I knew I wanted it to connect with that message while still feeling true to The Brown Gals.

My session was called “More Than One Lane: Discovering Your Strengths, Voice & Vision.”

And the whole idea behind it was simple:

You do not have to shrink yourself or choose just ONE thing you want to do with your life.

You can be creative and smart.

Quiet and a leader.

Interested in business and art.

Good at one thing today and discover something completely different about yourself tomorrow!

You can have more than one interest, more than one dream, and more than one version of what your future could look like.

Life has more than one lane, and so do you.

More Than Just “What Do You Want to Be?”

One of the first questions I asked the girls was one we have probably all heard a million times:

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Then I asked how many of them had ever changed their answer.

Of course, hands went up.

And that opened the door to one of the biggest messages I wanted them to leave with:

Changing your answer does not mean you are confused. It means you are still discovering.

That became the foundation for the rest of the workshop.

We talked about the labels people put on us, the labels we sometimes put on ourselves, and why one word could never tell somebody’s entire story.

We explored the idea that your interests do not have to “match” in order to belong to you.

Because who decided the artist cannot also love science?

Or the athlete cannot also want to start a business?

Or the quiet girl cannot also be a leader?

Exactly!

Mapping Out Their Own Lanes

The girls also worked through their own My Lane Maps, a reflection activity I created specifically for the workshop.

Without giving away the whole thing 😉, the activity gave them space to think about different parts of themselves, including:

• who they are right now

• what they enjoy

• what they are good at or still learning

• what matters to them

• who they are becoming

• and one small move they can make next

There were no perfect answers.

The goal was not for them to figure out their entire lives in one Saturday morning.

The goal was simply to pay attention.

To notice what lights them up.

To recognize their strengths.

To think about what matters to them.

And to understand that they are allowed to keep changing their answers as they grow.

Three Sessions. Three Different Rooms. One Message.

I presented the workshop three times throughout the day, and each session definitely had its own personality.

Some groups were more talkative.

Some needed a little more encouragement.

Some jumped right into their worksheets.

And some kept me on my toes. 🥴

But one of my favorite parts of each session was hearing the girls share pieces of themselves with the room.

We also talked about the power of their voices and the advice they would give other girls their age.

And then I flipped it back on them:

Listen to the advice you give everybody else. Sometimes you need to give some of that same advice to yourself.

Because we can be really good at encouraging everybody around us while forgetting that we deserve some of that same encouragement too.

The second session had such great energy that I ended up doing a double giveaway because picking just one winner did not feel right.

Now that final session?

Whew chile… They kept me on my toes. 😂

Let’s just say I’m pretty sure a few older students made their way into my group, and the energy was definitely different, LOL.

But honestly, that is part of presenting too.

Every room is different.

You adjust.

Read the room.

And keep it moving.

You make sure the message still gets through.

And overall, my sessions went really, really well.

Big Dreams. Small Moves.

Another piece of the workshop that mattered to me was helping the girls understand that they do not have to have everything figured out before they start moving toward something they want.

We hear things like “follow your dreams” all the time.

But sometimes that sounds HUGE.

So we made it smaller.

Want to write a book? Start with one page.

Want to learn how to code? Try one beginner lesson.

Want to improve a grade? Ask one question.

Want to start something of your own? Write down one idea.

Because big dreams usually start with really small moves.

The goal was for each girl to leave with at least one next step that felt realistic enough to actually begin.

Not someday.

Not when everything is perfect.

Just next.

Sometimes Support Shows Up Right Next Door

One of my favorite little moments happened before I even started presenting.

The presenter in the classroom beside mine helped me get everything set up and helped me get my computer connected correctly so I could run my PowerPoint.

She did not have to do that. So later, I gave her one bag I made up with one of my signature water bottles, a signed copy of my book, bookmark and wrist band as a thank you (Same thing I gave away to the girls for the raffle drawing).

It was such a simple moment, but I loved it.

Sometimes support looks like somebody helping you connect a computer five minutes before you need to present.

And sometimes you just make sure people know you appreciate them when they show up for you.

The Bigger Picture

Even though the event did not start exactly on time, it was extremely organized, and you could tell there was a lot of intention behind creating the day.

A whole Saturday dedicated to pouring into young girls.

Giving them room to talk about confidence, identity, their voices, their goals, and the pressures they deal with every day.

That matters!

A huge thank you to NNPS Youth Development for allowing me to be part of the event and to 13News Now for coming out and capturing such an AMAZING day.

Watch the 13News Now coverage here.

And of course, a special thank you to my family and friends who continue to support me, encourage me, show up, and remind me to keep putting The Brown Gals back out there.

Because that is another part of what Saturday meant to me.

Putting The Brown Gals Back on the Radar

The Brown Gals has grown and changed a lot over the years and so have I. Opportunities like this are helping me introduce people to what The Brown Gals is becoming now.

A space where creativity, business, family, growth, community, and real life can all exist together.

A space built around the reminder that none of us have to fit neatly into one box.

Saturday gave me the chance to take that message off the website, off social media, and into an actual room full of young people. And I want more of that. More workshops. More conversations. More opportunities to speak to girls, women, adults, entrepreneurs, creatives, and anybody else who needs the reminder that they are allowed to have range.

Honestly, I left the conference thinking since I reside in Hampton, I wish Hampton City Schools did more things like this... Because our young people deserve spaces like these.

And honestly? I left wanting more opportunities to be in rooms like this.

Saturday was a reminder that sometimes the next lane opens up simply because you were willing to step into it.

And if there is one thing I hope every girl who sat in one of my sessions remembers, it is this:

You do not have to shrink yourself to fit into one version of who you are supposed to be.

Keep discovering. Keep growing. Keep taking the next step.

Life has more than one lane… and so do you!🤎