March is Women’s History Month, which allows us to reflect on all of the women who have had a great impact on the world. Though this list can vary from person to person, the Kernel opinions staff will be offering its selection of inspirational women throughout March.

While many women have shaped me into who I am today, those who have helped me with my mental health and resilience stick out the most.  

Some of these women I don’t know personally and have only encountered through media, while others have stuck by my side through every phase of my life. 

Celebrities like Selena Gomez, trailblazing female politicians like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and my biggest role model, my mom, have taught me lessons about myself and how to treat others. 

Gomez has helped me understand that I am not defined by my mental health.

Recently, she has become outspoken about her difficulties with mental health and seeking help. 

In her Apple TV+ documentary, “My Mind and Me,” she describes spells of severe depression and battling bipolar disorder. 

“Clearly I’m still here to use whatever I have to help someone else,” Gomez said in the documentary trailer. 

Even amidst moments of darkness and hopelessness, this helped me realize that everything I go through can be used to help others. She’s changed my outlook on my mental health completely. 

A woman I admire for her passion for change and equality is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

She once said, “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”  

I feel strongly about women’s rights, equal rights for all and creating a world of peace and equality. 

Ginsburg taught me to stand up for what I believe in and that leaders are necessary to create change. 

I hope to be a leader for others and that I can inspire others with my actions like Ginsburg has for me. 

The woman I look up to the most, who embodies all of Gomez’s and Ginsburg’s qualities and more, is my mother. 

My mom is there for me every minute of every day. 

Through her love and reliability, she taught me resilience, patience and courage.

She started quoting Eleanor Roosevelt to me at an early age by repeating, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” — words that I think about daily. 

She’s never let me underestimate my worth, and she taught me that even when I feel lost, I always have someone to fall back on. 

Her unconditional love for her family, friends and everyone in her life makes me strive to be a better person every day. 

Her strength and selflessness are admirable, and her smile is contagious. 

I’m so lucky to have a mother who taught me self-love and how to stand up for myself from the day I was born.  

It’s pivotal for girls to have others to look up to, and I’m grateful to have so many strong women in my life to be inspired by.