FP student creates “real change” with diary book for girls

July 19, 2024

If anyone knows how to turn a bad situation into a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it’s Zoie Joseph, a middle school student from Forest Park.

Ten-year-old Zoie was unveiled as one of this year’s bronze Jefferson Award winners at this year’s Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards on Saturday, July 13.

The awards are part of Nickelodeon’s Our World initiative, created to empower and encourage children to make a difference in the world, and are given to the country’s best children who are making a difference in their communities.

Zoie is the honored author of Confident Girls: For the curious, brave, and bold girls, an activity book and journal designed to help young girls build confidence and learn to be resilient.

“I wanted to help other girls who might be going through the same thing I was going through, like bullying,” Zoie said.

The rising sixth-grader at Forest Park Middle School said she learned from those painful past experiences and designed the activity book around affirmations, journal prompts and other activities to help girls process their emotions.

“They can write down some things that give them a more positive self-esteem, and I hope they feel more positive, confident and brave after using the book,” Zoie said.

Zoie was nominated for the award because of her involvement with Jack and Jill of America, an organization dedicated to developing and promoting future African-American leaders, and her partnership with Nickelodeon.

She was one of four children selected from hundreds of nominations across the country, said her mother Monique Norington-Joseph.

“I was super proud of her,” Norington-Joseph said. “Those were tough transition years. Middle school and fifth grade can be challenging at times.”

Norington-Joseph said the idea for the diary came about as she was trying to find different ways to help Zoie cope with the bullying she experienced after moving to a new school.

“She writes and keeps a diary and likes to draw … so I just took something that was at the core of her personality and we turned something negative into something positive,” Norington-Joseph said.

The mother-daughter duo worked on their own diary ideas and other social-emotional activities. This is how the diary book was created.

“It was exciting to see this for our Zoie,” said Norington-Joseph. “She’s a great young girl. She has a lot to contribute and I think this will be great for her future.”

An additional benefit was that she saw her daughter’s self-esteem grow, she said.

“That was a big deal… the fact that she’s learning to use her own voice, which is so important for girls,” she said. “A lot of times our girls sit there and don’t understand that their voice matters. To see my own child learn at such a young age to take initiative when something is wrong and even stand up for her own friends is important.”

As Zoie’s story and book continue to gain recognition, she will make several appearances, including a trip to the White House in August, and will discuss her award in a live interview with CBS.

The diary book was published in March and can be purchased on Amazon.