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Emma Kennedy
Mrs. Cramer
College Comp Period 2
18 September 2020

Something I’ve Challenged

Growing up my mother always used to tell me that if a boy tugged on my hair or hit me,

it was because he liked me. I remember thinking it was strange; why would he hurt me if he

thought I was pretty? I remember being in the fifth grade, walking down the hallways of my

elementary school, adorned in a bright pink tee shirt and light-up sneakers, making my way to

my science class. I recall the laughter of the boys as they smacked my books and pencils out of

my arms and shoved me into a locker. I remember crying, but I also remember wiping my tears

and smiling, because they must really, really like me.

When I think about the person I am today, I think about what I’ve been through.

Unfortunately, during my formative years, I held onto most of what my mother told me. I

believed everything about boys and being a woman and Santa. She only shared those ideas with

me because that’s what her mother had told her when she was my age. My generation has been

questioning this blind faith for years. I won’t pretend that me challenging my mother and her

generation’s belief system is my own isolated incident. I’m not the first to learn something new

and I won’t be the last, however this challenge is much more than a coming-of-age. The topics I

bring up over the dinner table for debate have been offensive for years, not just now.

I can only continue to learn about myself as a woman. Jokes nowadays are told with

thinly veiled misogyny that I’m just supposed to accept and find funny, or else I’m a “bore” or a

“prude.” Then again, by no means have I gone through the worst of what I could have gone
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through compared to other situations women are placed in. That being said, my experiences do

reflect a decent majority of girls growing up in the early 2000s. Boys will be boys and girls will

be pretty and shut up about it.

The boys who teased me when we were young most likely didn’t know any better, and

likely will never know any better. Some of us choose not to challenge what we’ve grown up

with. My worst fear is my generation becoming stagnant and uncaring and being unable to do

anything about it. I think the most important thing we can do at this age is learn and grow. We

need to meet new people and experience life outside of ourselves. Numerous people older than I

have been those who have chosen not to change. They’re only experience is just a continuation

from their youth. I can only hope that my current self isn’t my final product.