Little Sisters Club
Before kindergarten I was part of a neighborhood play group, complete with matching red baseball caps with our club name “The Little Sisters Club” embroidered across the front. We all had different family sizes, but what we all had in common was that we were the youngest of the bunch. We all looked at our siblings with admiration of their age and seeming independence, and simultaneous abhorrence for our bossy tormentors. We put up with wet willies, loogies hung over our faces, secret languages and constantly being excluded by signs that read; ‘NO GIRLS ALLOWED’. At the same time, we had best friends with us on every road trip, shoulders to hold onto in the deep end of the pool, and plenty of jokes to steal. I’ve only ever
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Nobody said I had to, It just stemmed from a fear of being teased or excluded just because I was a girl. I was a shy kid from the start, but around the time I started sixth grade I had a fear of sharing what I loved with people In fear of them thinking it was stupid. It took a long time to get rid of this fear. I still have trouble talking about myself and I still get shy, but when I found my own world, filled with my friends, my ideas, my art and my music, I realized I was my own person, and a person who I love. I realized my family can fit in that world too, and they only make me prouder of it. I feel so much power in my strong relationship with my mom, I learn and gain so much inspiration from making art with my brothers, my relationship with my dad became so much better when I gave up on fitting into the father 's only daughter archetype. Now I question his double standards, his subconscious sexism when it comes to cooking and cleaning, and now I feel no fear in standing up for myself, which we both learn a lot from.
There are so many pressures for young girls as they grow up to shrink themselves, endless messages telling girls to physically and figuratively take up less space in this world. Growing up with boys is a small one, but It has inspired me to always stand up for all the other little sisters. I hope that whatever I do in my world, I am helping