Little Girl in a "Man's World"

Chapter 5

It was one of those days when she felt inspired to write in her little purple book. She opened it to a page and started to write.

     There was once a child called Little Girl who found a book that contained a sneak peek to her future. She was once a lonely child who sought out other people to fill in the gap in her heart. She faced many challenges and nearly gave up her own life. She was judged for her appearance, her beliefs and sometimes by her gender because she wanted to be a soldier. This was before she became interest in writing. She vividly remembers the other children laughing at her.

"Why do you want to be  a soldier? It's a line of work for boys." Some of her teachers asked her.

"I want to help people. Who cares if I'm a girl?! I want to be a soldier and I'm going to work hard to achieve that dream!. " She joined her school's C.A.T or Citizenship Advancement Training. She trained for a year but had to quit for health reasons. She didn't become a full-time soldier but in her heart she is. She worked her hardest, learned some and become friends with her officers. She failed but she was happy for trying.

The Girl believed that everyone was equal but she learned at a young age that society thinks differently. She remembered  (or was she dreaming?) hearing her parents say they rather have a son because they carry the family name. You must understand that she is an only child and having to hear that hurt her deeply. She felt as if she wasn't enough and decided that if it would please her family then she'd dress more masculine and try to act like a proper lady...whatever that meant.

There were also a few instances when the Girl was invited to parties located a few hours away from home or perhaps you would understand better if I said the Girl wanted to go to places at night? She was already a teenager at this time roughly 14-15 years old and knew how to defend herself in case she needed to. But when she asked for permission the answer is always no.

Why do you think so?

"You're a girl and it's nighttime. You'll get raped or kidnapped or murdered." said her guardians.

"But how come Spiky, a boy two years younger than me, is allowed to go outside?" It didn't make sense to the Girl.

"Because he's a boy and he can defend himself." The Girl argued that she took self-defense classes.

"It doesn't matter!" But it did matter because they might as well have said "You are a girl and therefore weak and pathetic."

It changed the Girl's perspective of the world around her in a sense that whenever people tried to talk her down for being a woman, she would ask them what does her gender or  sex had to do with anything?  If her skills and level of intelligence qualifies her for a certain position why shouldn't she get it? What's the point of having requirements for cetain jobs or projects if all you ever look at is an individual's biological aspect.