I went through a phase when I was a little girl where if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say “the president of the United States of America.” I knew nothing of politics but I knew that there had never been a woman president. I wanted to be the first.
This phase didn’t last long, as my next big idea was to play football, which was also short lived as I wasn’t eligible due to my uterus and because my mom feared I would get hurt (which may be true, but I was a BIG girl back then).
When I excelled in softball, I begged my dad to let me play baseball on his team so I could play against the boys.
In junior high, I took a specific count of how many boys I could beat in PE fitness testing and which boys I could throw a shot-put farther than (most of them).
In high school, a perfect score on a chemistry exam put your name up on the wall, and I sure as hell made sure that there was a female nerd up on that list amongst all the male nerds.
Anyway, what I am trying to get at is my entire life was fueled by this competition within myself to prove that I could do anything (better than) the guys could do it. So obviously, when I found out Hilary Clinton would be running for president of the United States I felt validated that my little dream of having a female president wasn’t just a dream, but it was an actual possibility (plus it took the pressure off me so I don’t have to run for president…).
So now lets fast forward to present day:
This phase didn’t last long, as my next big idea was to play football, which was also short lived as I wasn’t eligible due to my uterus and because my mom feared I would get hurt (which may be true, but I was a BIG girl back then).
When I excelled in softball, I begged my dad to let me play baseball on his team so I could play against the boys.
In junior high, I took a specific count of how many boys I could beat in PE fitness testing and which boys I could throw a shot-put farther than (most of them).
In high school, a perfect score on a chemistry exam put your name up on the wall, and I sure as hell made sure that there was a female nerd up on that list amongst all the male nerds.
Anyway, what I am trying to get at is my entire life was fueled by this competition within myself to prove that I could do anything (better than) the guys could do it. So obviously, when I found out Hilary Clinton would be running for president of the United States I felt validated that my little dream of having a female president wasn’t just a dream, but it was an actual possibility (plus it took the pressure off me so I don’t have to run for president…).
So now lets fast forward to present day: