Now, I wait all week to go to the Shakti Center. Each week we discuss the stories of other girls. We use our red books to write down our thoughts about how other girls could have used their rights and made better choices. We also write about our own painful stories, and how we wish they had been different. Most of the girls in my Shakti Circle are younger than me, but I can see the pain in their eyes when they write in their red books. I know our Shakti Leader sees it too. We use our pink books to write down our own dreams. We are taught to become the woman we dream of being, and not to let anyone else tell us what we are worth. As long as we believe that we are precious, strong, and proud then no one can tell us differently or treat us differently. We have named our Shakti Circle the “Precious Stones”. We want to be strong on the inside, but beautiful on the outside and able to bring a sparkle of light to our community. This is what Precious Stones means to us – to be strong, confident and good.