Being a teenager is tough, especially a teenage girl. With all the trial and error that comes with juvenescence, sometimes you need some time to let loose and take a break from everyday life. Good thing there’s G! World. G! World is mostly a club for minority girls in secondary school and is all about encouraging and guiding young women. This club meets every Tuesday after school at West High in room 221.

According to their Facebook page, G! World is a group designed to mentor, support, and empower high school (and junior high) girls. The goal is for participants to have a place where they can build their confidence and express themselves. Olanthda Fields, who is in her first year of being a facilitator, described G! World as an environment where you can open up and a place  where you can identify with the person sitting next to you. As a facilitator you get to conduct group at different schools. She said “For me it’s an opportunity to get to know and work with different girls. And essentially i’m learning from you guys as well.”

This club typically starts out with an opening, following up with check-ins (going around the room saying what your “highs” and “lows” are and other thoughts. For example : “My high is that I got an A on my algebra test and my low is I have to babysit when I get home” things like that), then the activity for that day and ending with a closing. It usually runs til about 5:45 and a ride home is provided if needed. But this club is more than just a snack and hangout.

The activities and discussions done in G! World all have a purpose or some sort of theme whether that be self love, stereotypes, or even your characteristics. One of the activities previously done focused on character traits. The members cut out traits on sheets of paper that they possesed, good or bad. Then everyone went around the room and shared one positive trait they cut out and one negative. For the negative trait you would share what you could do to change that. In the most recent meeting there was a discussion about body image and insecurities. The discussion went from talking about our own insecurities and the reasons behind them to talking about “Pretty Hurts” by Beyonce. One of the facilitators said,  “We have all had insecurities about something at some point.”

Samayya Muhammad  21’, the vice president of G! World has been involved in G! World  for three years. Originally, going to this extra curricular was just a way for Muhammad to get out of the house, but it soon became more. “I know someone’s there. Even if it’s not the girls in the group at least I know I have support from my facilitators,” she said. For Muhammad, G! World is a place where she can depend on others and also a place where she learns things from. She says G! World has taught her to be a stronger person and how to put out a good image of herself.

Sarah Bigaba ’21 has also been a part of G! World for three years now and is the president of the club . For Bigaba the weekly meetings are a “mood changer.” “I like how easily I can talk to most of the people here,” she said. She also said that going to G! World has taught her to be confident without being arrogant. She said  “G! World is somewhere where I can get away, a safe space.”