Denise Deegan is author of several best-selling contemporary novels for adults and teens.Denise has been a nurse, a china restorer, a pharmaceutical sales rep, a public relations officer, an entrepreneur and a college lecturer. Her most difficult job was being a checkout girl, although ultimately this experience did inspire a short story…
Because I am a Girl I ask…. where the 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram are… and the dozens more that have just been abducted…and the men and boys they’ve taken…and how this can be allowed to happen.
Because I am a Girl I believe…. in happy coincidence and romantic love. I believe that we should be more like children. No one has more fun, is more joyous or quick to laughter. No one is as impetuous, fearless, up for anything. No one can hug like a child or say ‘I love you’ so freely
Because I am a Girl I hope…. that Malala will be the first of many who stand up and say, ‘no more.’
Because I am a Girl I wonder …..at the miracle of nature and the strength of the human spirit.
Because I am a Girl I dream… big.
Because I am a Girl I remember…. the people who came before me who contributed to make the world a better place. I remember especially those who fought for Ireland’s freedom and those who demanded the right for woman to vote.
Because I am a Girl I celebrate…. at every opportunity.
Because I am a Girl I like… writing emotional books that make people laugh and cry and feel. Because, let’s face it, we are not afraid of our feelings.
Because I am a Girl I dislike …arrogance, cruelty and any belief, religious or otherwise, that girls and women are in anyway less.
Because I am a Girl I feel …lucky to live in a country where people with two X chromosomes are treated as equals. We are – at the very least – equal.
Because I am a Girl I celebrate…. at every opportunity.