Bustle
August 14, 2018
Bustle published an essay by former Girls Write Now mentee Fanta Camara — “My Mandinka Family Wanted Me To Get Married Young — But I Decided To Get An Education Instead” — as part of its celebration of Rule Breakers, the women and non-binary individuals who dare to be themselves.
In her essay, Fanta reflects on the pressure girls and women in Mandinka culture often face to fulfill domestic roles— and how Girls Write Now helped her pave her own path: “Participating in GWN…gave me the confidence to stick with my decision to go away to college and gain not only a higher education but more independence as a woman. Going to the monthly workshops at GWN and seeing all the young women writing about their goals boosted my own aims even higher. On top of that, I had a wonderful mentor, Meg, who guided me through college prep and gave me good advice about her own experiences going away to college and becoming more independent. In this network, I felt supported and motivated by the women around me.”
Fanta is also a contributor to our anthology, Girls Write Now: Two Decades of True Stories from Young Female Voices (Tin House), which can be ordered here.