I was really lucky because I went to an all-girl school, and that

When Kerry Washington, the celebrated actress and advocate, said, “I was really lucky because I went to an all-girl school, and that single-sex education really helped me because I really learned to bond with women and to not compete with or compare myself as much because we were all allowed to be ourselves and be unique and kind of have our unique strengths,” she was not merely recalling her education — she was revealing a profound truth about identity, sisterhood, and individuality. Her words carry the quiet wisdom of one who has walked among both harmony and competition, and who has discovered that confidence is born not from comparison, but from acceptance of one’s own nature.

The origin of this quote lies in Washington’s reflection on her formative years, long before fame placed her in the eyes of the world. Her time in an all-girl school offered her a rare sanctuary — a space free from the unspoken pressures of comparison and the cultural narratives that so often pit women against one another. In that space, she found the beauty of collaboration over competition, the power of shared growth, and the grace that comes from seeing strength not as dominance, but as diversity. What she learned was not just academic knowledge, but a deeper lesson — that when women are free to be themselves, they rise together.

When Washington speaks of learning “to bond with women,” she speaks against one of the oldest illusions in society — the false belief that women must compete to find worth. History and culture have too often set them against each other: for approval, for beauty, for power, for space in a world that has offered them too little of it. Yet her experience stands as proof that when those barriers are lifted, something sacred emerges — sisterhood, the recognition that another’s success does not diminish one’s own, but rather expands the circle of possibility. In learning to honor others, she learned to honor herself.

The ancients understood this wisdom well. In ancient Sparta, young women were educated not to hide behind others but to develop both mind and body, to stand beside their peers as equals, not adversaries. They trained together, ran together, and were taught to take pride in the strength of all. The result was not division, but unity — a generation of women whose self-assurance strengthened their entire society. Like Washington’s experience, the Spartan model reminds us that when individuals are encouraged to thrive together, they build not rivalry but resilience.

Washington’s reflection on being “allowed to be ourselves and be unique” touches upon the very soul of education — that it should not shape people into sameness, but into authenticity. True learning is not the art of conformity, but of awakening. In that environment, she discovered that uniqueness is not isolation, but contribution; that each person’s gifts, when expressed without fear, enrich the collective. This lesson transcends gender and time: the measure of a community’s greatness lies not in how similar its members become, but in how freely they may differ.

Her words also challenge the modern disease of comparison, that subtle poison that erodes joy and divides hearts. To compare is to lose sight of one’s path; to compete blindly is to forget the abundance of possibility. What Washington learned — and what she passes on — is that confidence is not built upon others’ weakness, but upon one’s own purpose. When a person learns to see strength in another not as threat but as mirror, they grow in harmony rather than insecurity. And in that harmony lies freedom — the freedom to be both strong and compassionate, both independent and connected.

The lesson of Kerry Washington’s words is timeless and essential: celebrate uniqueness, and seek unity without comparison. Whether in schools, workplaces, or homes, create spaces where individuals are encouraged to express their truest selves without fear of judgment. Teach the young not to measure their worth by others’ heights, but by their own growth. And most of all, nurture bonds of empathy — for in lifting others, we lift ourselves.

So let her wisdom endure as a guide to all who listen: Do not compete for your place among others; create it within yourself. Cherish your uniqueness, honor the strengths of others, and build a community not of rivals but of allies. For when people — especially women — rise together in authenticity and love, the world itself rises with them, illuminated by the power of unity in diversity.