Anything that a boy can do...

I am the only girl of four siblings. When I was a child, I participated in all of the activities that my brothers would. 

What stuck with me the most was the adults in my life telling me that I couldn't do many of these activities because I am a girl.

This did a terrible number on my self confidence as a child.

Today I can recognize that this was not a measure of my abilities, but rather a measure of the ignorance and lack of education regarding gender equality from the adults in my life. This seemed as unjust as a child as it does to me now. 

I am happy to report there is a rainbow after the storm. I can now recognize that my determination to be treated equally, even as a child, was set ablaze to do anything that a boy can do, just much better. ;)

"Thank you."

When I was in second grade, I wrote a ton of songs. There was one in particular that I was really proud of. I decided to share it with my music teacher after class one day. He listened as I sang, and then he said "thank you."

As a second grader, I wanted to be praised and told it was a great song, so his simple "thank you," which may have been sufficient in his mind, was the biggest rejection I had ever felt. 

I kept writing songs well into my teens, but I never again shared them with anyone.

Professional Draw-er

In first grade, I loved drawing. In my heart, I truly thought I had a shot as a "professional draw-er."

But on my report card, my first grade teacher wrote (to paraphrase): "[NAME] loves to draw. She wants to draw for the rest of her life. I don't think she has what it takes to do that... but I know that she's going to be something big, somewhere big, and I'm gonna read about her in the news one day." 

This completely broke my spirit and discouraged me from pursuing this dream.