I love Amy

Monday, November 18, 2013


If you don't know who Amy Poehler is, that means you haven't watched Parks and Recreation, and that means we can't be friends any more. 

Nahhh, I'm kidding. It just means I'm going to repeatedly pester you about how amazing Parks and Rec is until you're forced to watch it and admit it's the best show ever. But I'm not going to do that today. (I'm going to do it on Thursday! Lucky you.)

Today, I would like to draw your attention to one of the most positive, encouraging, maybe-society's-not-totally-fucked-after-all projects I've come across in a long time: Amy Poehler's Smart Girls.

As a comedian, actress, writer, BFF of Tina Fey and all-round fabulous person, Amy Poehler has accumulated a fair bit of wisdom in her life. Now she's making it her mission to share that wisdom in a way that's funny, accessible and empowering for young women, through the Smart Girls website and YouTube channel.

The idea behind Smart Girls is to let girls know that it's ok to be clever or funny or shy or outdoorsy or geeky or whatever you want to be, as opposed to what other people - especially boys - want you to be. It's a little bit like the It Gets Better project, but for teenage girls. 

Well, *technically* it's for teenage girls, but honestly? I sort of secretly love it too. It speaks to my inner 16-year-old in the same way as really good young adult fiction (Eleanor + Park, I'm looking at you) or an unexpected whiff of Tommy aftershave.

There's a lot of content on the site, so the best thing is for you to go and have a poke around yourself, but I'd like to put in a special word for Ask Amy, Poehler's video agony aunt segments. She's just like a cool big sister and your favourite teacher rolled into one. The best thing about her answers is her open acknowledgement that there are no right answers - we're all different, and that's what makes us all so special.

Or, as she puts it, "Why listen to what I have to say? I'm obviously a crazy person."

Yes, Amy, you are. Crazy AWESOME.


SEE ALSO:


Image of Amy Poehler by Chad Griffith for The Village Voice, 22 April 2008

6 boats moored

  1. Ahem... *warms up voice* Preach it sister! *slinks off*

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  2. Oh my goodness I love this! How have I missed this? I work on youth stuff and spend my life thinking about how to communicate with teenage girls and cite It Gets Better about a million times a day. Thanks so much for posting this! Love it! Lara x

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    1. I'm so glad this is useful for you! It's such a great resource.

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  3. I feel like i'm spamming you with comments but im catching up on my fav blog bloglovin' list, so you'll just have to accept it. I love Amy and Tina, i love them a heap, they are actually the best role models for everyone! Especially when they host, and everything they do is gold. Thats all. xE

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    1. Spam away, I'm loving it! And yes, Amy + Tina = THE BEST. Their Golden Globes stint was hilarious, no wonder they've been signed up for two more years.

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