When I was a kid I loved to read. I had a book with me wherever I went, be it in the car, at the doctor’s office, or even just outside in the yard. I was willing to read any genre, yet I found myself most attracted to realistic fiction. I liked being able to connect to the characters, and how each story taught me valuable and applicable lessons. However, as I got older, I found myself with less and less time to read for pleasure. I was up late doing homework and participating in extracurriculars, and I was at school for the majority of the day. But, before arriving at school this semester, there were two books I was recommended to read in preparation for college, both of which I’d recommend to other young women prior to their college experience.
Option B by Sheryl Sandberg
Option B is an autobiography written by Facebook CFO Sheryl Sandberg. Sandberg writes about her husband suddenly dying, and the devastation that followed for her and her children. The book is not a sob-story (though I did shed a few tears), but rather a story about resilience and perseverance; how to carry on when your whole world seems to be collapsing around you. The book taught me how to look at the challenges in my life and face them head-on, and helped me come to terms with the fact that in life there will be things that go wrong, and I’ll likely end up on a path I wasn’t anticipating. As a student who was unsure of what she wanted to do with her life and nervous about the start of a new journey, this book helped me put my future into perspective.
Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein
Girls & Sex is a non-fiction book based on Orenstein’s interviews with young women, psychologists, academics, and other qualified individuals. The title gives you an idea of what much of the book is about, which is the sex lives of young women in the 21st century. However, Orenstein discusses this topic in a unique and thought-provoking way, by looking at the topic through lenses of hypersexualization, slut-shaming, hook-up culture, and sexual assault. Girls & Sex is an entertaining book, but also very raw and educational. It is a good resource for teenage girls to read before college, as it talks shamelessly about topics many young women are scared to confront and think about, but also teaches its reader valuable lessons about being a young woman in today’s culture.