Happy Women's History Month: Celebrate these iconic women before March ends

March is Women's History Month — and earlier this month, March 8, was International Women's Day. With this knowledge, March should be a month of celebrating the iconic, strong and innovative women that are changing the world as we know it every day.

It's a powerful thing to have women to look up to, to see that it's possible to achieve great things and overcome society's obstacles. Women have the power to transform a generation and eventually, the world.

So this month, we celebrate women who have changed the world, women standing up for what they believe in and standing up for each other — women just like you.

Without further ado, here are four women who have made their mark on the world and made us believe women can do anything they set their minds to.

Serena Williams

Williams is a women's tennis icon, the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) of the tennis world and the best in the world in the women's singles league — she even ranked number one for 319 weeks and won a singles tournament while pregnant!

Not only is Williams number one in the world for tennis, but she also taught us that anything's possible if you work hard and chase your dreams without giving up when things get tough. She's so much more than an inspiring woman athlete: Williams fights for women's rights, gender pay equality and racial equality — and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Willams became an ambassador for the Allstate Foundation's Purple Purse campaign in 2017. The Purple Purse campaign is a project that focuses on the financial aspect of domestic abuse.

Williams also created the organization Serena Ventures, where she built a new school in Jamaica with the help of Helping Hands Jamaica. Most recently, she started the brand "S by Serena," a clothing and jewelry company, fulfilling another one of her passions — fashion.

Kamala Harris

Harris breaks down barriers and proves that women can do anything. She is the first woman to hold the office of vice president in the U.S., and not only that, she's also the first Black and South Asian woman to hold such high office as well.

Harris' political journey didn't start at the top with this title, though. Before holding office alongside President Joseph R. Biden Jr., she served as the District Attorney of San Francisco, became the attorney-general of California and, finally, a senator, before securing her spot as the first woman — and woman of color — to be vice president of the U.S.

At the end of the 2020 presidential elections, Harris left us all with some wise words of wisdom: "While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities."

Words like this will certainly inspire girls everywhere to continue to break the glass ceiling.

Malala Yousafzai

Yousafzai was born in Pakistan, where education wasn't equal for boys and girls. She wanted, for herself and other girls in her country, to receive the same level of education that young men and boys receive in Pakistan.

Yousafzai chose to pursue her education, even though becoming educated as a woman was frowned upon after the Taliban took control of her hometown. In 2012, Yousafzai's world was shaken — she was face to face with a gunman who had heard how outspoken Yousafzai had become about girls' education. The gunman shot her on the left side of her face, but she made it out alive and more resilient than ever.

After this brush with death, Yousafzai and her family moved to the U.K., where she founded the Malala Fund. The Malala Fund functions as a nonprofit organization giving girls opportunities for bright futures, including receiving a good education — which Yousafzai holds dear to her heart, especially after it almost caused her to lose her life.

Equality is what she strives for, and in 2014, Yousafzai's efforts were rewarded when she became the youngest person to receive a Nobel Peace Prize.

Strong, fearless and inspiring is only the beginning of how to describe Malala Yousafzai.

Oprah Winfrey

Winfrey is probably the first name that comes to mind when thinking of influential and forward-thinking, boundary-breaking women. World-renowned TV star, philanthropist, publisher, actress and activist are only a few titles to add to her list of accomplishments.

But Winfrey's life leading up to these accomplishments was far from easy or happy. She worked extremely hard to get to where she is now and faced many obstacles, including abuse, poverty and loss.

After an incredibly traumatic childhood, Winfrey overcame the horrible hand she was dealt and went on to become one of the wealthiest and most influential people in America.

You can only briefly list a few of Winfrey's accomplishments before it begins to fill the page. She started as a news anchor at 19 with CBS and found a calling with talk shows, becoming the co-host of the series "People Are Talking" in 1978.

A few years later, in 1984, Winfrey became the host of "AM Chicago," which later was renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show," solidifying her success in the television industry. Her talk show success helped create a brand for herself, skyrocketing her further success.

Winfrey created her own TV network called OWN, which stands for the Oprah Winfrey Network. Some other accomplishments she has been able to tack to her belt include writing a memoir, starting her magazine "O" and making her film debut in "The Color Purple," which received a Golden Globe nomination.

Winfrey's success doesn't end there — she's received numerous awards and commendations for her humanitarian work, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She's also the first Black female billionaire in history. To top it all off with humanitarian efforts, Winfrey started an all-girls school in Africa to help promote their education.

Winfrey's a true inspiration to women and people everywhere. She's a picture of hope to all those suffering through abuse, loss, poverty and discrimination.

All of these successful women have a hand in proving that girls can do anything and be anything they want to be no matter their circumstances — all you need is a dream and the drive to reach it.