Personal Narrative: I Did Something Like A Girl

The first time that I remember being told that I did something “like a girl” is when I was in the fifth grade. I’m sure that this was said to me several times before then, but perhaps it never occurred to me that it was supposed to be an insult and therefore did not create a lasting memory. My fifth grade class had just finished having the “period talk” where girls and boys were separated and while the girls were given pads and tampons, the boys played outside. All of a sudden, it wasn’t just teasing about cooties that could keep the boys in the class away from the girls, it was our entire state of being. New ideas formed around what a girl is supposed to be. I was on the competitive side as a kid, so being top of the class and playing every sport was important to me. I never wanted to settle for second, until I was told that it was …show more content…
It is not cool to be smart where I come from. It became uncool to care about grades once the feedback from our teachers started coming in red pen instead of smiley face stickers. I spent most of middle school going by “nerd” instead of Heather. But I didn’t give in. I found comfort in the kind words of my teachers and parents, who promised my hard work would pay off. By the time I reached high school the teasing had stopped. School became more real to everyone as we were informed we only had four more years until we entered the real world. I felt prepared and suddenly my peers started coming to me for help. I embraced my status as a nerd, and a female nerd at that. I attempted to help many of my classmates as they struggled to remember the information they had ignored the year before and I made many lasting friendships with the same girls that used to tease me for my baggy clothes and competitive