Katies Blog Post 4/16/11

I have been a pretty busy girl since I last blogged. I want to share with you one of the experiences I recently got to take part in, which to me was absolutely amazing. Last week on Tuesday I took the afternoon and drove to San Jose to meet with a team of girls from Girls For A Change (GFC). I have been working with GFC for a while now. It is a great organization for girls that teaches girls how to lead social change. The more I have learned about GFC, the more and more I want to be involved, because these girls are absolutely incredible. On Tuesday I actually got to see one of the teams in action, which was a first for me.

When I showed up, I have to admit I was a little bit nervous. This is something I have a big passion for, so I wanted to make sure everything went well. When the meeting started though, I felt right at home, the girls who were present at the meeting were a great group of girls. One of the first activities we did, was probably one that impressed me the most. The girls were asked to write down what they want in life and how they are going to get it. I was thinking that was a big question for high school students, because I know people in college who to this day don’t have any ideas on what they want to do in life. As soon as each girl was handed a note card, they immediately put their head down and started to write. I was pretty astounded by that, but I was even more impressed by what they wrote. These high school age girls wrote down, exactly what they wanted and exactly how they were going to get it. They were not little things they wanted either, one girl said she wanted to be a veterinarian. Then later she was telling me all about this school and things she would get to do at the school. I thought it was pretty amazing how much she wanted it and how knowledgeable she was about being a veterinarian.

I was so impressed by this activity, and I really got excited when one of the girls shared that she wanted to be a race car driver. At the end of the meeting, I was able to share a little of my story with them. Being young and the experiences I have had through racing, I felt like I really got a chance to connect with the girls. The one who had said she wanted to be race car driver told me her parents and other people in her life had basically shrugged her dream off. I shared with her that when I told everybody that I wanted to ride pro stock motorcycles, I was only 12 years old and everybody looked at me like I was crazy. It is all about proving to everyone you can do it, because if you want something bad enough and you work hard enough for it, you can make it happen.

I am so excited to continue working with GFC because in my life I have always had such a passion for racing and I have worked really hard for what I have. The girls I met with have the same passion about life and what they want to do. It was a pretty inspiring thing to see and I can’t wait to see more. If anyone is interested in checking out more about Girls For A Change you can visit their website at girlsforachange.org. I will also keep everyone up to date on the things I am doing with GFC.

There are also a lot of other things going on in my life right now. I am really excited about my graphics business, but the trailer sales has been a hard process. My dad and I are taking a step back to re-evaluate Kalifornia Katie’s Trailer Sales, so we will see what we come up with. School has been very challenging too, but I am keeping up just fine. Right now I am in the process of trying to make it to the national event in Houston, so keep your fingers crossed! Thanks so much for reading.