Tavi Gevinson first captured the public’s attention in 2008 as the adorable and quirky fashion blogger from Style Rookie. At the time, Gevinson was only 12. In 2011, at the age of 15, she decided to start her own online magazine for teen girls called Rookie. Within a week of its launch, the site had over a million views. This month marks the two year anniversary of Rookie Magazine.

Now, at the age of 17, Gevinson is about to make her silver screen debut in Nicole Holofcener’s new film “Enough Said.” In the film Gevinson shares the screen with the recent Emmy winning Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini.

Gevinson is no doubt a remarkable young woman of many talents, but she has so much more going for her than that. She is also an excellent role model for young women. 

Gevinson started Rookie because she felt that there were not many strong female role models, and the few that did exist were shown as one-dimensional instead of complex humans with flaws, strengths and insecurities. Since she had such a hard time finding the kind of role models who empowered young women, she set up a space where girls could go to empower themselves and find the role models they were lacking.

Most young women can attest to the fact that the majority of magazine geared toward teen girls are less than empowering. They address superficial adolescent concerns. Some magazines have tried to work in positive body image messages, but they conflict with the numerous pictures of typical skinny, pretty girls that litter the pages. 

What makes Gevinson a good role model for not just girls, but for all young people, is that she saw something that needed to be changed and she set out to make that change. This is an empowering message for young women because it shows us that we can create the changes we need to make the world a better place.

That seems like a very idealist statement, and maybe it is, but part of empowering people and being a good role model is helping people realize that they have the power to make change society. While they may only be able to make a small improvement in the world, those acts add up over time.

What make Gevinson truly extraordinary is that she started this magazine when she was 15 years old. Gevinson is now a high school senior and has accomplished more than most people do in their whole lives. She is someone that we can all look to as a source of inspiration. She shows us that we do not have to settle for the way things are; we can be the change we want to see in the world.