When we were little, we were told that girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. We grinned when relatives told us to smile, and we used our sweetest voices to get what we wanted. We were princesses, and princesses didn’t make bad faces or say bad words or yell at anyone. Princesses smiled.

But we’re grown up now, and our princesses are haunting us.

We’re told to smile by strangers on the street, and though we know this would never happen to a princess, we smile anyway. We raise our hand in class, but we phrase our answers like questions because princesses aren’t know-it-alls. We use too many exclamation points when we’re in charge because we’re afraid that we’ll get called a bitch, something a princess never is, for doing our job.

I’m tired of it.

I’m tired of trying to pretend like I’m not angry, ambitious, or assertive. I’m tired of saying “just,” “maybe,” and “I think.” I’m tired of being afraid of what other people may call me, and pretending to be happier, quieter, and dumber so that people will like me. I’m tired of being in charge and feeling powerless.

While I don’t want to speak for everyone’s experience, I know that so many girls—no. I know that so many women are tired, too. That’s why we have to change things.

It’s time to stop typing ten thousand exclamation points, phrasing questions as answers, and pretending like we’re not humans who have normal emotions. Get angry and make bad faces even if that’s not what a princess does. Stop caring about whether people think you’re a bitch because you never wanted to be their friend anyway. Be messy, loud, and tactless because you’re a human being. That’s what we do.

We only have so much energy in a given day. Why waste it acting like someone we’re not when we could use it to change the world? We may not be princesses, but I promise you we can be just as powerful. Stop smiling, and get to work.