Maybe it’s because we’re raising two daughters. Or it’s because I am often struck by how sophisticated some of the young women I read about (and encounter in my daily life) are today. But I am drawn to knowing more about these individuals and what makes them tick. In a way, it’s sort of the reverse theory of learning from our elders about life, love, and just about everything else.

I see this in our regular babysitters, who are working their way through college, making their own opportunities for world travel, maintaining good grades, and multi-tasking a variety of campus clubs and volunteer organizations. And, oh yes, they also find time to teach and care for children. When they could be out. Doing just about anything else.

And I see it in entertainment culture. Lena Dunham intrigues me. So does Emma Watson. Check out the photo spread in the April issue of Elle magazine, and these clips from the interview by Mickey Rapkin. Watson truly carries herself as a person who is set out to do what she aspires to do; no matter what the opinions are of those around her, and particularly, as a young, professional actor.

One of my favorite quotes from the piece is Watson explaining, “I need to find a way to always feel safe and at home within myself…because I can never rely on a physical place.” If I could teach our two young girls to understand this one day, that would be more than nice.

{Photo credit: Emma Watson cover story, Elle, April 2014.}