In October 2020, Purposeful and partners interviewed 2,239 out-of-school girls, aged between 13–19 years old as part of the Girls’ Circles programme. Their responses affirm what we know – that girls’ lives in Sierra Leone, especially those who are out of school, are characterised by multiple hardships: little to no education; the ubiquity of transactional sex; teen pregnancy; and everyday violence. But also, that to be a girl is to resist, and girls are primed to change their lives for the better when there is a shift in their ability to access and imagine their choices.