I recently had the opportunity to attend a roundtable interview with Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, and Reese Witherspoon sounds magical right? OMG, I’m still pinching myself! I’m still full inside and grateful for such a rare but wonderful opportunity. In this post, you will read first hand about how these three amazing women hope to inspire our young women and much more… 

Inspiring The Next Generation of Girls

Out the gate, Ms. Oprah joked with the group stating “I raised you all” the room exploded in agreement. Then she went on to say “what I do know for sure is that everybody’s goal is to articulate the importance of living a life that matters and a life that has to mean. I think that my handprints, my heart prints, all over the Oprah show for all those years is a is a magnificent purpose to have lived. I also knew when we were doing this film that there would be young girls like your daughter who would come along and they would see the Mrs. and they would see me and would ask, what do you mean she had a talk show and that the imprint, the heart print that you eventually will leave in this world will come from what is said in this movie. So, for your generation that I helped to raise there will be generations to come that will be raised on this story. Presented through Ava’s vision who will only know me that way.

Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling reminded us all the importance of joining together to make a difference and the positive impact we can have on young women when working cohesively. “We’re not against each other.  When we get together, we create abundance, and it’s been a driving part of my career, the more I collaborate with women, the more we create for each other. That’s a that’s a concept that we need to instill in our little girls.” Reese Witherspoon

“The cast is so inclusive I’ve never seen anything like that and I think that as a young woman I would have been felt so much joy from watching it. So much happiness from seeing that and as a dreamer I wouldn’t have to dream quite so hard to picture myself on screen.” Mindy Kaling

My Reflection

After listening to Mindy, Oprah, and Reese’s responses regarding how their roles and the film overall can inspire the next generation of girls I reflected on how representation is everything and how the impact of being seen can inspire a young woman to dream big. I was so inspired when I go home I decided to volunteer twice weekly to work with young women that live in underserved communities. I know I can work to be the difference.

From A Book To The Big Screen, The Mrs. Share Their Favorites

“Kill a Mockingbird was one of my favorite books and it based the language was the way people spoke and the ideas. A little girl, you know, looking up to her father-daughter love I think that would be profound.” Reese Witherspoon

“Caged Bird for me.” Oprah Winfrey 

“This is just a fun one Harriet the Spy I loved it and I think they tried to do it a while ago, but it was the first time I’d seen a short-haired not like overtly feminine looking girl like a chubby introvert girl who had her own adventure who was a latchkey kid, and that was it hit all the boxes for me I loved that book and I’d love to see it made into a movie.” Mindy Kaling

My Reflection

As an avid reader, I own each of the books mentioned in my personal collection and I highly recommend them to you all. It’s truly wonderful how you can relate a book to your personal life from someone else’s vision or perspective. As humans, we live within six degrees of separation with a lot of things in common whether we choose to admit or not.&

Oprah shared with us how it was to work behind the scenes with Reese and Mindy “I told Gayle these women talk so much about everything”

How Woman Can Impact Change If There In Powerful Positions Within The Entertainment Industry Will These Trends Continue

We all remember Oprah’s powerful speech delivered at the Golden Globes that touched us all. Here’s how that speech relates to the future of film and the state of women leading to a position of power. “During my Golden Globes speech, I was saying a new day is on the horizon it’s here and we are living it this is it we’re experiencing it you’re seeing it up there on the screen. It’s happening! I’ve done a hundred and I think I’ve done a hundred and I don’t know how many shows on domestic violence. People start to see themselves in the story and recognize first and foremost, I’m not alone. The light has been shed by the beauty of storytelling. I remember going to a small town in Virginia during the eighties where a young boy had been ostracized and they drained the pool because he had AIDS. Once it started to be integrated into the storylines in sitcoms, in movies, in Philadelphia people’s ideas about it started to shift and change thank you.”

As Oprah exited the room she shook hands with each of us and said softly “thank you” as she looked us directly in the eye. Oprah was everything and more than I had imagined. 

A Wrinkle In Time Opens in Theaters on March 9th, 2018.

From visionary director Ava DuVernay comes Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” an epic adventure based on Madeleine L’Engle’s timeless classic which takes audiences across dimensions of time and space, examining the nature of darkness versus light and, ultimately, the triumph of love. Through one girl’s transformative journey led by three celestial guides, we discover that strength comes from embracing one’s individuality and that the best way to triumph over fear is to travel by one’s own light.

Meg Murry is a typical middle school student struggling with issues of self-worth who just wants to fit in. The daughter of two world-renowned physicists, she is intelligent and uniquely gifted, as is Meg’s younger brother, Charles Wallace, but she has yet to realize it for herself. Complicating matters is the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Murry, which has left Meg devastated and her mother broken-hearted. Charles Wallace introduces Meg and her fellow classmate Calvin to three celestial beings (Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who) who have journeyed to Earth to help search for their father, and together they embark on their formidable quest. Traveling via a wrinkling of time and space are known as tessering, they are transported to worlds beyond their imagination where they must confront a powerful evil force. To make it back home to Earth, Meg must face the darkness within herself in order to harness the strength necessary to defeat the darkness rapidly enveloping the Universe.